Book of the Shadows I - History, Envoy of Chaos
by DaCosta Rosencraft
Summary: Long ago, two worlds clashed, and one king was able to bring peace to these turbulent times. But some cannot abide peace, and with his death his son must rise in his place. Now, the last Pharaoh of the Sancrien Kingdom must reawaken from his long sleep to resist the return of those dark days.
1. Foreword and Intro

**FOREWORD**

This story, _History_, is the first in my series I am writing called _The Book of the Shadows. _I began to write this story when I was fourteen years old and in the ninth grade. It was originally just an unorganized set of ideas and has since developed into the creation before you now. While I am writing this here foreword, I am only about a quarter of the way through _History_. The last sentence I typed before typing this piece was, _"If you two know so much about her then why didn't you say anything when you saw her this morning?"_; just to give you an idea of where I was when I did this little intro. But why am I babbling on here about the story. You probably want to get on reading the story so if you can just bear with me while I say a few thanks I will not take up too much of your time.

First I would like to thank my family. They bore with my late night keyboard bashing as I pounded out this story here. They also allowed me my privacy, most of the time, so that I am allowed to concentrate on building up my ideas on paper.

Second I want to thank Stephen King. A magnificent writer, Mr. King has helped me a lot just by writing the stories he did. I have always thought that no one had a mind filter so "twisted" as mine until I read his book _The Eyes of the Dragon _and collection _Night Shift. _After reading those two, I went on to read many of his other great works.

Lastly I would like to thank the writers of the many anime and video games I have come to love. It is from some of these shows that I got the ideas that my saga is centered around. When writing I had not thought about publishing this and therefore had no worries about plagiarism and all that. It is not my intention to unduly take credit for their accomplishments and works, so I will apologize ahead of time if that is the impression I have given. Hope no one gets too upset if this does become a published work. Here are some of the stories that I have watched, games I have played, or have otherwise influenced me and this story; _Soul Taker, Betterman, Yu-Gi-Oh! , Sailor Moon, Silent Mobius, Crest of the Stars, Gate Keepers 21_(short but okay)_, Hellsing, Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho, Ruroni Kenshin, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Big O, Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Gundam Wing, G Gundam, Zoids, .Hack/Sign, Soul Calibur I and II, .Hack/Infection and Mutation, _and all the _Legend of Zelda _games except for Gamelon.

All right, that's that. Sorry if that sounded like a cheap play on an award show acceptance speech. I would like to encourage those of you who have not read Stephen King or have not watched any of the aforementioned anime to give them a look. _Gate Keepers _should not be too hard to make time for seeing that it is only six episodes long with each episode being under a half hour. They are all very good. As for "certain" anime fans, I did not put _Fooly Cooly_ down on my list because I don't like it! Too bad! Anyone interested in knowing what it's about, go ahead and watch it, it is just as long as _Gate Keepers._ Sorry for rambling again. I hope anyone reading my story enjoys it. Peace!

- DaCosta Rosencraft

September 28, 2003

**INTRODUCTION**

The legend of the two queens is one of incredible journeys all of which may or may not be true. These stories have been passed down throughout generations. I have been entrusted with the truth behind all of these tales and plan to let out just a sample of it to you, here, now. Many are believed to be false but some are so terrifying that no one dares question the validity of such a tale.

I will begin to unravel this intense mystery from the start of the most amazing and widely known of the legendary tales of the two queens. It is actually the start of the tales of the queens. It is how the Queen of Dark Magic and the Queen of Dark Power came to be known in this world.


	2. Chapter 1 - The Beginning

**CHAPTER 1: The Beginning**

This story begins far back in time. The Sancrien Kingdom had just lost its most benevolent king. He had ruled his people with great compassion while doing all that he could to protect his people from the evil ways of the neighboring kingdom of Hieiten. The Hieiten ruler had been at war with the Sancrien kingdom for some time. When the king took control, Hiei, the ruler of the Hieiten kingdom, was stopped. For a long time an uneasy truce had kept peace in the land.

But this peace was over now. Hiei had a thirst for power and sought to take the Sancrien Kingdom for himself. Hiei had a plan to take what he wanted. For months, Hiei had secretly built up an army of well over a million men. This was the first step in his grand plan. Next, he had one of his best sharpshooters assassinate the king of Sancrien. In the turmoil from the death of the king, Hiei planned to move in and take the land.

Seeing that the kingdom was in grave danger, the advisors under the late king scrambled immediately to find the replacement before it was too late. Having never married, and therefore no children, the traditional path of succession was interrupted by this untimely event. The office of the Pharaoh was a new addition to the government when the now former king's father first took it. The irony was that this same issue was to come before the full council for discussion in a week.

Upon inspection of the king's chambers, a pile of documents was found. Among the papers was a letter from the king detailing the plans he had for the future of the Sancrien Kingdom and other important matters about the kingdom. Within the document was a section specifically targeted for the eventuality of his passing. The document seemed to have been written many years ago. It said flat out that two women, Rini and Anzu, were to be sought upon his passing. Once the two women arrived in the kingdom, they would be the ones who decided which of them will rule over the entire kingdom for all eternity.

Anzu and Rini were unknown people in Sancrien. No one had ever heard of the two women before and it was questioned whether or not the fate of the kingdom should be left in the hands of a person no one seemed to have ever heard of. The will of the late king was carried out however, without the execution of the order by anyone.

One day later, two mysterious women appeared in the kingdom from out of nowhere. The two ladies wasted no time. They made their way straight to the palace of the king and requested that they meet with the high administrator to the king, who had been the temporary ruler.

"Sir," a palace secretary entered the chamber. "There are two ladies who wish to speak with you,"

"I haven't the time to deal with any kind of interruptions. If this kingdom is to remain in one piece then we must have leadership, and quickly,"

Suddenly the two women were inside the room. He was awestruck by the appearance of these two women from out of nowhere who were somehow able to make it to the palace and up to the chambers in less than a day without any interruptions by any of the guards. Security around the palace had been stepped up to prevent similar assassination attempts than that which was perpetrated against the king. Making it this far with only now meeting any type of resistance was showing a serious lacking in palace security. There was an immediate air of suspicion about the individuals as they were wearing long cloaks with hoods that shrouded their faces in shadow.

The high advisor ordered the immediate imprisonment of the two ladies. They looked at each other and grinned under the cover of their hoods. As they turned to the advisor, they both dropped their cloaks. The two women were a sight to behold. Both women looked to be at around the same age and appeared to be no older than in their late teens or early twenties. They were tall with long, flowing hair, deep eyes and a beautiful, gentle face. They had a seemingly gentle but highly mysterious demeanor. When they faced the advisor, their eyes began to glow and the man disappeared in the blink of an eye, so to speak.

The young Rini turned to two awestruck guards who had appeared just in time to witness the unbelievable event and with the voice of a great leader commanded the guards to summon a meeting to organize the cabinet for the new leader. Fearing that they too would face the same fate as the advisor, the two soldiers ran off to gather all to the great room for the meeting as they were ordered.

As the meeting began, the diplomats in the cabinet of the late king were appalled that two young women were treating them in such a way as to say they were above them. They had served under the king for a long time and did not think that someone who they knew nothing about could possibly rule the kingdom and the planet as should be expected.

Rini and Anzu entered the room and all fell silent. Anzu began to talk.

"We are Anzu and Rini. Your fallen king had met with us long ago and requested our presence here upon his death. Although you may not know us, and you may not like it, we are the new rulers of the Sancrien Kingdom. We ask that you all acknowledge our position and that you exit the palace as soon as possible. Your services within the planet's cabinet are no longer required,"

Rini continued on despite the expected uproar by saying,

"You will continue to receive payment in the traditional manner. You will all be officially dismissed in three days. Our inauguration as the new queens of the Sancrien Kingdom will take place at two o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Any questions you have may be discussed but will not be dealt with until tomorrow. Good day gentlemen,"

Anzu and Rini left the room as the uproar continued over the events that had just transpired. They left and retired to a chamber that was closed and covered with thick vines with fragrant flowers, which appeared from seemingly nowhere, sealing the door shut.

As morning came, the doors were reopened and the two women appeared in the doorway. They made their way to the great room where the cabinet members had already gathered. The ambassadors from the Sancrien Kingdom had gathered and were awaiting the arrival of the self-appointed queens.

"The first thing we would like to discuss is where it is exactly that you two come from,"

Anzu answered, "Where we are from should be of no concern to you or anyone else. If you cannot remember us, then it does not matter. All you need to know is that we were exclusively chosen by the former king of Sancrien to replace him in the event of his death and that is what we intend to do. As we said last night, we will follow his wishes with or without your approval,"

The gathering fell still as night at those words. The words had seemed to hit the congregation fairly hard. It was as though these two ladies had started a coup to take control over the kingdom, and with their strange powers, what choice was there but to listen, ask questions and judge the next step. Another person stood up and sent out a question to be addressed by the ladies.

"How is it that you two knew our late king?"

Rini handled this question herself. "We will not go into details as to how our encounter occurred but will say that it was quite a long time ago and in another land than this. Next question please,"

A man in the far back stood up but before he could begin to ask his question, Anzu began to talk.

"This is getting to be a really boring process so, if you do not mind, we will speed it up a little. The answer to your question is none of your business. That is for you to find out for yourself. You in the far right to the rear, I will not embarrass you by revealing your thoughts to the group but let me say that you are very troubled man for what you are thinking. And for the record, no, there is no way it could ever happen,"

Rini took over the conversation as the delegates stood glued to their seats in awe at what was going on. "Yes, we can read your minds. Yes, it is, I suppose you can say, some sort of magic. No, we are not witches or devils. No, we do not plan to kill you all. The final question we will address is the matter of the how this kingdom will be run. As you all have been dismissed as ambassadors for the planetary government, we have a new cabinet already lined up. We will introduce you to the new cabinet when they arrive here in the next couple of days. Now, we have to go,"

Anzu continued, "We have important business to take care of. We will be back shortly before our inauguration. A messenger with a very crucial letter dealing with the future of the kingdom will arrive shortly after the inauguration festivities. That letter does not need to reach us; the contents of the letter are already known to us. We want to let you know that the threats in that letter will not come to pass. The two of us have much, much more than enough power to eliminate the threat well before it reaches the Sancrien Kingdom. The aggressor will be punished and his misdeeds will not go unnoticed. One last thing before we go. From now on, you and everyone else will refer to us as the Queens of the Shadows."

With that final note, the Queens of the Shadows exited the Great Room and walked down the hall. The delegates began to discuss the situation amongst themselves, and prepared to, for the first time, crown two new rulers for the same kingdom at the same time.


	3. Chapter 2 - The New Order

**CHAPTER 2: The New Order: The Hitokiri Battousai**

The crowning of the two queens went off without any complications. The delegates had all pledged their allegiance to the queens although they did reveal that they understood that their support was not required. They did not know what their late king's reason was for sending these two women to them before his death, but they had always had trust in him and were sure that he would not lead them wrong.

At half past three that afternoon, a messenger made his way to the kingdom. He was in bad shape and had obviously been through a great ordeal. He was immediately escorted to the queens. Upon seeing the man they had a look of quiet shock and anger on their gentle faces. They began to say a quiet chant. The man's bruises were vanishing before the eyes of the guards who had bought the man in. After giving him a decent meal, they began to discuss what had happened.

The story had begun to infuriate the queens. Hiei had amassed his army faster than expected and begun his move on the Sancrien Kingdom much earlier than expected. He was moving his army at a steady pace toward the capital burning and destroying every village and city of the Sancrien Kingdom on his way. Very few people had made it out of the path of this vile man. This messenger had barely made it away from a town on the edge of Sancrien Kingdom to warn of this coming danger.

The delegates had convened and asked permission to begin the amassing of an army to combat the aggression of the Hieien Kingdom. The blatant response was, "No!" They had ordered no troop preparations at all. They said that they would leave in the morning and put an end to the war between Sancrien and Hieien once and for all even if it meant taking over the hostile kingdom.

Morning came and the two queens went out on their own to intercept king Hiei on his route to Sancrien. They used a special power to teleport themselves to the point where the million man army stood. Hiei was shocked to see the two queens alone in front of his army. Queen Rini began to speak.

"Hiei! What you are doing is wrong and will not be tolerated any longer. You are to withdraw your army immediately. You will be responsible for retribution toward each and every village you destroyed on your way here!"

"I beg your pardon ladies but I do not see that in my plans for gaining world power. If you haven't noticed, I have an army of well over a million people. There are only two of you. You do not really expect to try and stop me do you? It would be foolish to try and get in my way," answered Hiei.

"We are warning you now, Hiei. If you continue to try our patience, you will be destroyed here today. That is indeed a promise Hiei. Surrender or face annihilation," answered Anzu.

Hiei laughed out loud and ordered his army to launch their attack on the two queens. The queens both raised their hands into the air. In the hand of Anzu, a staff appeared. In the hand of the Rini, a parasol appeared. The two queens lifted off into the air. Anzu pointed her staff at the incoming assault and shouted, "Dark Magic Attack." Rini did the same thing launching a "Dark Energy Parasol" attack. Out of their items came a large blast of dark energy that completely destroyed the front line assault.

"Was that supposed to impress me? All forces, attack!" Hiei commanded.

A look of increasing frustration came over the face of the queens. They looked down from the sky at Hiei and said at the same time, "That was your last chance." They both pointed their items toward the sky once more. Large black clouds began to engulf the skies above them. Hiei got a worried look on his face and ordered his army to attack and not to stop until the queens were destroyed.

A barrage of fire came upon the queens but had no effect whatsoever. A magical barrier had appeared over them protecting them from all the attacks. Over the heavy fire, the voice of the queens came through. They shouted out an attack called, "Dark Shadow Storm."

As those words left their lips, a large serpent like silhouette began to take form in the clouds. The silhouette coiled around, twisting with itself. A large red and black dragon appeared. It had two arms and two legs, each with three long, sharp claws. The most frightening feature of this imposing creature was its two mouths. Although only one was open, it still sent a very cold shiver down the spines of the army of Hiei. The mighty dragon let out an incredible roar that created a large gust of wind.

The Queens of Shadow landed on the head of the dragon and began to gently stroke it as though it were a beloved pet dog or cat. The demeanor of the queens had change drastically when the dragon arrived. The great anger that had bloomed in their face had disappeared. In its place were two faces with incredibly happy and carefree expression.

Hiei took this opportunity to try an attack while their guard was down. The queens sensed the attack and the intense frustration returned to their face. Although it did not seem possible, the expression on the dragon's face grew less pleasant. The attack once again failed as all projectiles hit the shield now surrounding both the queens and the dragon. Rini began to talk.

"Hiei, this is our very favorite and very loyal dragon Slifer. There is no other creature that can match its power and it is loyal only to the two of us. We gave you fair warning not to provoke us and now you will pay with your life,"

The two women stood up and the mighty dragon turned its head toward the large army. The women pointed their fingers at the gathering and ordered the dragon to attack with "Thunder Force." The dragon opened its mouth wide. Large amounts of energy began to course around the air and there was a great increase in the winds through the field.

Slifer finally unleashed its attack. A large flow of energy emerged from the great beast's mouth. It hit the ground and moved slowly with the movement of its head. As the energy blast ended and the dust cleared, the only thing that remained where the army was standing was Hiei. He was laid out on the ground. Hiei slowly made his way back up to his feet. As he did it, he made a plea for mercy toward the queens.

"I beg you. Please forgive my actions. I now know that what I did was wrong. I pledge; if you let me go, I will never harm anyone again. I will fix all the damage that I have caused. I just ask you to have mercy on my soul,"

Slifer let out a tremendous roar. Anzu turned a very angry gaze toward Hiei.

"You do not deserve any mercy Hiei. For a long time you have plagued this world with evil. In the time of the former king of Sancrien, he had the power to eliminate you forever. He neglected to, believing that you may some day change your ways. To think that you were once a student of his father, even now your heart shows no remorse for those whom you have slain and for whom you have caused great pain. Although you deserve to perish here today, King Yami would not like for you to die. He would like for you to go to where he is today to try once more to teach you the proper way,"

"But isn't he dead? I know he is. I had him killed myself," asked Hiei.

"This is another of the injustices that you deserve to die for. But you are mistaken. Your pathetic attack on King Yami was absolutely ineffective. Yami was already planning to leave the kingdom. He had to go to another world outside this one to take care of a few things. A disappearance would have raised many questions. His exit therefore had to be permanent. He knew this day would come eventually, so long ago he organized things so that the two of us would run his kingdom for him. Your weak attack, though unexpected, provided him with a means to make a covered exit.

"Yami has gone to the Shadow Realm. It is a world where things you could never imagine happen as normally as breathing, and that is where we received this great pet. Yami has been waiting for your trip there ever since he made his way there. You will pay for what you have done. There are many powerful people in that world that you have caused many problems for. The most powerful include Yami and us. In the Shadow Realm, your crimes will be dealt with by Yami himself. We will now send you there to face your former master," answered Anzu.

Hiei continued his pleas. "Please. I beg you. Do not send me to face him. Anyone but him,"

Rini defiantly answered his plea. "That is enough. You will be sent there immediately and you will face whatever decision Yami makes and have to deal with it there,"

Rini and Anzu raised their items as they prepared to send Hiei to the Shadow Realm. Refusing to accept his defeat, Hiei tried one last futile attempt to get rid of the two queens. As he fired several shots from his pistol, Slifer let out a roar that destroyed all of the projectiles as they were in flight. Having made one last attempt at eliminating queen Rini and queen Anzu, they pointed their items at the evil man Hiei and banished him to the Shadow Realm. It is there that he was to be made to remain for the rest of his life under close watch.

The two queens' work that day was not over quite yet. They left for the Hieien Kingdom. When they arrived there, they caused an immediate uproar. Once they met with the cabinet of King Hiei, they told them that they had killed the entire army of Hiei. They also told them that they were to carefully choose a ruler that would rule justly or they would face the same fate as Hiei's army.

From that day forward, the queens were given a new nickname around the world; Hitokiri Battousai. The two Queens of Shadow, the rulers of the Sancrien Kingdom had made a name for themselves that day as the most powerful entities in the world. And in the years to come, they would also be known as the most benevolent rulers known to the world. Although their pet dragon Slifer was a sight near the castle on occasion, it was never committing vast destruction. Slifer was a pet and therefore it was mostly playing with the two queens, although some degree of explanation was required.

Many years of peace and tranquility followed the queens' ascent to the throne. They had ensured a great deal of harmony in their region and had never had to live up to their nickname of Battousai, at least not until the fall of the Shien Mitsurugi Empire of the east.

The day after Hiei's fall was one for another set of surprises. It was the day that the new cabinet arrived in Sancrien to take their positions. It was a private meeting in the presence of all of the former cabinet members.

"Welcome back everyone," Rini began. "Behind my sister and I are the three members of the new cabinet. They will officially be taking over your duties a day from now,"

"My sister and I would once again like to thank you all very much on behalf of King Yami, for your dedicated services over the years. Please understand that times are changing and therefore there is a need for this new formation in the office of the Pharaoh. Once again, thank you for your service to the Sancrien Kingdom," Anzu stated.

It was a short meeting. The initial anger towards insurgence of these two ladies was quickly melting away. It was becoming apparent that they were the real deal, a force to truly pick up where the last king left off.

The queens and their new appointed cabinet had their own little private reception afterwards. It was a nice chance for them to have their first real talk since getting together. It had been a long time since they last were able to get together.

"Well, it's been a long time. Hard to believe he's decided to stay there. I never figured that would happen," Noa mused.

"You know Yami. He wouldn't have done this unless he thought it was necessary. It's just a shame that you all couldn't get here before he had to leave. He always wanted you all to be there to rule by his side,"

"Yeah, but now that he is back in the Shadow Realm, it should be easier for us to make time," May suggested.

"That reminds me, where are the others?" Sisi asked.

"Kenshin is in control of the kingdom to the east. We don't know exactly where his sister is. She has been traveling on her own for a while. She did promise to return to Kenshin's side by next month when she left,"

"I'm sure he isn't looking forward to that day," May lightly laughed.

"Oh well, can't say we haven't tried to help him," Noa sighed.

"Why don't you go out with her instead then, that way Kenshin won't have to worry about it?" Rini taunted.

"Why don't you?"

"We're all girls and you're a guy; hello! You really don't think sometimes do you?"

"All I meant is that if Kenshin is staying away from her because he thinks she's crazy, I'm going to keep my distance as well,"

"I swear, you boys are so immature. She's a part of the family, so it's not like you can just avoid her all the time. Once things are settled back to normal again, she'll probably be able to hang around again, what will you do then?"

"It's simple. I'll kill myself,"

"That is a horrible joke,"

"No sense of humor. Anyway, when is the next time we'll be in the Shadow Realm?"

"Well, this current expansion phase should be over in about a week, so we should be able to make a quick trip then. Yami's still very careful about constant travel back and forth between the two dimensions. Spirit World is really unhappy with its existence in the first place, and these trips back and forward might be dangerous during expansion phases," Sisi explained.

"The expansion phase issue is understandable, but this problem with Spirit World is getting to be quite a nuisance," Anzu wearily sighed.

"That's true, but we have all the time we want to deal with that. Once the expansions cease and the Shadow Realm is stable, we'll be able to make a better case for lifting Spirit World's ban on travel there,"

"Let's forget about that for a bit. Tomorrow is a busy day. We have to make a good show of face for the people. It is the first rule of a new ruler taking over after the death of one such as Yami; show to the people both your power and your benevolence," Noa boisterously affirmed.

"You and Kenshin's sister would fit better than I thought," Rini continued to taunt.

"That isn't even funny!"


	4. Chapter 3 - A New Threat

**CHAPTER 3: A New Threat**

In the world of the east, the ruling faction was the Shien Mitsurugi Empire. This land had been a long time supporter of justice and supreme benevolence. The emperor for the longest time was a man by the name of Kenshin Inasha. He was a superb swordsman. His style of fighting is known as the same name as his empire, Shien Mitsurugi. He was a master of this legendary style of sword fighting. The point of this style was to never kill, but to use a sword as a tool to protect people. Kenshin had not only mastered this form of swordsmanship but had taken it to another level.

The two queens had known Kenshin for a long time. They had battled alongside him a few times in the past. He was also known as Hitokiri Battousai. Kenshin had refined the art of Shien Mitsurugi to such a new and unbelievable level. Kenshin preferred the use of a reverse-blade gilded sword. A blade not ordinarily able to kill a person, Kenshin was able to use his sword to kill thousands on the battlefield. Anyone who could force him to turn his sword around was known as an incredible warrior. It is not known whether this feat was ever accomplished because if he was to turn around that sword, that person was likely never seen alive again.

His extreme skill and power produced a complete security around the empire. He always emphasized that he never wanted to fight. He preferred to settle any problem with his sword in its sheath, but he would draw his blade if peace could not be settled with words. The police of the empire all carried a reversed blade sword. Their swords were for the sole purpose of use only in cases of extreme aggression by another. He did not tolerate insubordination, treason, or murder, and all perpetrators were severely punished. For that he was a popular leader of the people.

But as always, a long time of peace is followed by a time of turmoil. A man by the name of Kagato Ishtanri had begun a trail of death and destruction throughout empires around the world. At this point, he was on the outer edges of the Hiein Kingdom and moving in on the Sancrien Kingdom. The kingdom of Shien was the neighbor of Sancrien. Although they were very close, each had never needed to rely on one another as allies in times of turmoil.

Kenshin had contacted the Queens of the Shadows to warn them of the incoming danger that was Kagato. If it were any normal person, having known the queens as long as he has, he would not have worried about giving any forewarning to such a powerful team as Rini and Anzu. But Kagato was something different. He was a supreme master of dark magic. He had a cornucopia of possible attacks each more devastating than the last. Kagato had formerly been a high-ranking member of the governing faction of the Shadow Realm. His power was immense. He could have made it to the top if not for his uncontrollable greed. He sought the seat of power and tried to use force to take it. He was banished from the council and was sentenced to solitude in the depths of the Shadow Realm. Kagato however escaped before he could be apprehended.

Kagato was also a sword expert. His blade was known as Tokenji. It is a legendary blade fabled to have the greatest power out of any blade known to human kind. There is no known person that was found, dead or alive, who has met Kagato in one on one battle.

Kagato had more on his side than just a powerful sword and a great many magical abilities. He had amassed an army of demons on his side. These demons had a lot of power as well. It could be said simply as this; the army of Hiei would have been a joke compared to the army of Kagato. His army was smaller but much, much more powerful. A defeat of this man would not be as easy a task as was defeating Hiei.

There was also a danger in engaging an enemy that had the backing of a great many demons. Like Spirit World and the Shadow Realm, the world inhabited by demons exists in a dimension separate from the others. Demon World is a massive place with a comparatively anarchic society. When it comes to authority, power is the only thing that matters. Many of the demons that live there are bloodthirsty, vicious, and brutal monsters. They would not hesitate to kill anyone for any reason. There are quite a lot that are generally peaceful, but they are a definite minority.

The power of Demon World in terms of who has control rests with a league of demons that have power far greater than any other demon. Similar to Earth, Demon World is divided into separate regions, each with a control base. But overall, there are three rulers of Demon World. Each of these three would like to control the entire world, but they are evenly matched, and therefore unable to best one another to take that control. Each has a different way of rule and a different view of what the relationship within the world and with other dimensions, should be.

The regional leaders, like the overall leaders, came to power by force. The way they run their given territory is completely up to them, unless of course it conflicts with the ideals of the big three under which their given territory rests. With such a chaotic system as this, and the general practice of many demons to cross over to other worlds and cause massive destruction there, Spirit World began monitoring and regulating travel between dimensions. Nevertheless, it wasn't a perfect system and demons still found ways through, although they are the weakest of the possibility.

Getting involved with demons was tricky business. One could not be sure whether the individuals that came over did so of their own accord, or if they were sent by a master. Interference with the heads of Demon World was like asking for all out war, and it would not be as easy an affair to clean up as was the still messy and costly war between Earth and Nemesis not all that long ago.

A situation such as this was very delicate. Any interference by Yami's council would have invoked retaliation by the Demons of Nightmare. They were the five demons that controlled a notorious region of Demon World. Their leader, Senozakuri, was stronger than all of his underlings combined. War with him would have meant a great and very long war with much bloodshed. It was a risk intolerable at the time.

The invasion into the Sancrien Kingdom was imminent. As Kagato grew closer, the queens grew more and more impatient. Finally unable to stand by and allow for Kagato to take control in this world, Anzu and Rini decided to finally step in and take action on behalf of the Earth instead of the Shadow Realm. Kagato had begun a much fiercer campaign to take control of the empires in the area. His threat could no longer be ignored.

It was a warm day in late April when the queens left to confront the army of Kagato. His army of demons had been on a steady path for days, not relenting on their assault one bit. The queens had been infuriated by the developments. It had been only three years since their first battle as rulers of Sancrien against Hiei. The battle would be of a completely different type than that of which they fought against Hiei. The queens arrived on the battlefield and met face to face with Kagato.

"Kagato, you should give up right now before you have to go through a worse fate than that which you already must confront," Rini said.

"Give up? You must be joking. You must be blind. I have in front of me an army of more than two hundred thousand demons at my command. At my slightest whim, they could attack and wipe you out for good. You must be confusing me with that pathetic excuse for a leader that you crushed those years ago. My powers are greater than that. There is no force known to the universe that can stop me!" answered Kagato.

"It is you who is making the mistake Kagato. It is true that Hiei was nothing compared to you, but you are nothing compared to us. We do not want to kill you if we do not have to, but we will not allow you to continue your viciously brutal activities," replied Anzu.

"I am growing tired of your presence. Step aside now ladies or you will be forced out of my way,"

The queens defiantly held their ground and stared down the army of Kagato. Kagato saw that the queens would not step aside easily. He finally gave the order for the demon army to destroy the queens. The queens summoned their items and began to take down the demons with their shadow attacks.

As the battling continued, the queens saw that regular attacks would mean dragging out this battle for a long time. They prepared to use one of their favorite attacks, Slifer the Shadow Dragon. But before they could begin, Kagato shouted up to them.

"Ladies, I issue to you a challenge. The game is Shadow Swords and by the laws of the Shadow Realm, you must accept my challenge,"

This challenge severely upset the queens. Their expression would have made the bravest of men tremble. But their expression quickly changed to a very, very happy one as the two began to laugh.

"You are truly an arrogant one, aren't you Kagato. If you don't remember, that is the way you lost to Yami and were originally banished. There is no way that you can defeat us with such a low power level. You will be gone in only a few minutes," was Rini's reply.

"Believe me. I know of your great power. I have worked hard to improve my powers. My power is now greater than that of yours. In this game of Shadow Swords, I will be victorious!"

Kagato then began to concentrate his energy. His hair began to grow out in all directions. The energy he was emitting then became visible. It resembled a swirling tornado of fire. Kagato then began to transform. His hair became a violet red. He grew three feet with the muscles on his body growing to three times their normal size. His skin became a scaly blue. On his forehead, there was now a third eye.

The sight shocked the queens. This was not a normal thing for Kagato to do and they knew that there was only one explanation. Anzu decided to reaffirm her belief.

"Kagato, I cannot believe that you would be so desperate and gluttonous for power that you would sacrifice your humanity to become a demon! I knew you were working with them, but not that you had become one. Now that you have made this step, we have no choice but to put an end to your life,"

"All I have done is made sure that I will forever rule over the Shadow Realm. The great one who gave me this power will reward me further when I bring him the head of the great pharaoh Yami. I couldn't believe it when I discovered a person who hated Yami more than myself. This man has powers that you could not comprehend. He has waited a long time, preparing to see Yami die. I was amazed at how simple he made my payment for this power. All I need to do is to kill the two of you. Just kill the most trusted people around Yami and it will be easy to take him down. The true great king will take up the lead of power on Earth. The most powerful should have the right to rule over the weak. If you are strong, you live; if you are weak, then you die. That is the way of this world. I will ensure that my lord is victorious in his endeavors and that I am there with him when the rule of Yami finally comes to an end,"

"That is enough out of you Kagato!" shouted Rini. "Your plans will never succeed. I do not know whom this lord is that you are referring to but his ideals will never become a reality. He will be stopped when he reveals himself, and you will be stopped now,"

"Kagato, draw your sword!" said Anzu.

At that, Kagato raised his hand into the air. In his hand a lightning bolt struck. The bolt of energy then transformed into a long sword. At that same time, Rini and Anzu were doing something as well.

The queens had their shadow items pointed into the air. Their energy was jumping wildly. There was then a blinding flash of energy that engulfed the queens. When the light faded, there were no longer two women standing there. In their place was now one woman. This woman was taller. Her hair was longer and a light red. Her eyes were a deep, fiery red. She was wearing a long, dark, red dress. On the dress, in the center on the neckline was a medallion with a unique symbol in it. Around her neck was a golden necklace with some sort of stone in the center that changed colors and shade. The primary colors seemed to be blue and red. The beauty contained within this new woman was even greater than that of the two queens. Her face had a great smile on it. She gave off a strange comfort that resembled the feeling you were in an indestructible fortress. Her shadow item was a dark blue staff with a blue crescent moon at the end. She held it up and it transformed into a strange new item. It was a sword, but not like one you have ever seen before. The new entity began to talk to Kagato, who was looking on with a bit of frustration showing.

"My name is Anastasia. I am the result of the shadow fusion between Anzu and Rini,"

"A shadow fusion? That is not possible. The shadow fusion technique can only be performed in the Shadow Realm. And besides, the last person to know that technique died without ever teaching it to anyone. How is it you are the one to know it?"

"That no longer matters to you Kagato. Your life will be over within a few moments,"

"With what, that thing in your hand? What kind of sword is that? It doesn't even have an edge. The best that thing is for is being melted down to make a real sword,"

"You are partially correct Kagato. This blade does not have an edge. This is the Gilded Shadow Sword. The blade was forged from magic. There is no sharp edge and there is no point. It has been perfectly dulled. Imbedded within the blade are the four of the rare Midnight roses. In the hilt are six of the even more rare Blue Ice diamonds. The abilities of this sword, unfortunately for you, lie within the power of the user. If not used correctly, the most it could do is knock someone unconscious. There are only a handful of beings that can use this blade successfully; this fusion form is one and the two Queens are the second and third. The others do not concern you, as you will never get the chance to meet them in battle. That means that you are about to suffer a very, very harsh defeat. Are you ready to face your end, Kagato?"

"I do not intend to die today Miss Anastasia. You will taste the full power of my blade. You don't stand a chance against me and my new powers. Your end is at hand,"

"Your anger clouds your judgment. If you were in the proper frame of mind you would be able to see that my power is significantly greater than yours. You have always been an over confident fool. You could never admit it when someone was better than you and sought to rectify this through cowardly acts of sabotage and quick shortcuts rather than improving upon your own skills. That will be the cause of your downfall,"

"Enough talk. I am here to destroy you and claim my prize from the true master,"

"I agree. Let us put an end to this. Quite frankly, I'm bored with this all anyway. I will put you out of your misery,"

Kagato launched himself forward with incredible speed. His movements could hardly be seen at all. He seemed to be traveling at the speed of light. Anastasia held her ground and seemed to be indifferent to the incredible speed at which her opponent was traveling. A faint glimmer appeared near the face of the queen fusion. A large cloud of dust swirled around the two combatants. Through the dust, you could see the queen still in her spot. Her sword had been raised and the sword of Kagato had made contact.

"If that is the best that you can do Kagato, then this match will end faster than I expected,"

The look on the face of Kagato grew incredibly angry. He jumped back and prepared to attack once more. The queen appeared to be ready to fight this time as she bought her sword up to her shoulder. She then declared her attack to Kagato.

"I assume that you have heard of the Kashien Mitsurugi style of fighting! It is a re-mastered version of the form used by Kenshin to the East. It is a technique in which it is ordinarily impossible to kill a person. However, I intend to use that same technique with this unsharpened sword to eliminate you from this world permanently,"

Anastasia and Kagato lunged towards each other. To anyone looking at the battle it would have appeared to be a series of bright flashes and thunderous clashes of metal on metal. For at least five minutes the battle continued in this fashion. The battlefield was covered with small craters, evidence of where their blades contacted one another.

There was finally a break in the battling. The fusion queen Anastasia stood there staring down Kagato. The battle seemed to have had no effect on her. She appeared to have not suffered any blows at all. Although he was not showing it, Kagato had indeed come in contact with the Gilded Shadow Sword a few times.

"I thought that you were going to finish me Anastasia? Your sword will not allow you the power needed to destroy me,"

"Kashien Mitsurugi,"

The queen declared this attack. She bought down her sword with great power towards the ground. A wave of immense energy cut through the ground and went straight towards Kagato. He jumped and dodged the attack.

"That is a sample of my power with this sword Kagato. I have done nothing yet but test the true limits of your power. I am very disappointed. You boasted so greatly about having gained so much power. You have gone through so much and have come so far just so that you could be destroyed. It is a real pity. I just hope that they have pity on your soul in Spirit World,"

Kagato raised his sword to attack. Before he could assume a proper fighting stance, Anastasia had rushed forward and in one quick slash had sliced the body of Kagato in two. As the upper half of his body fell towards the ground, the expression on his face was that of utter shock. With his demon powers, Kagato was capable of dodging an attack and retaliating in a single second. However, not only did he not have enough time to see the attack approach from nearly twenty feet away, but he did not even have the time to attempt a block. Anastasia traveled at an unheard of speed and accomplished a feat thought to be impossible. She made a clean cut straight through his ribcage with a sword that is supposed to be completely dull.

The battle between Kagato and Anastasia had gone on only ten minutes. The army of demons that Kagato had assembled now turned their attention towards the sky, sensing a powerful presence making its way to them. A shadowed, cloaked figure appeared in the sky.

"Ah! I see that your powers are not exaggerated. You two truly are deserving of the title of the most powerful in the world of humans, though that should be a given considering your family background. Let me introduce myself. My name is Kiram. I am the one who gave that pathetic worm Kagato his demon powers. I am on a path to meet my destiny. That fool Yami wastes his time trying to create a world of peace for these humans. They deserve nothing more than to be a servant to us. That is why I plan to rule this world as it should be ruled. I will take the power of the Shadow Realm's pharaoh, infuse it within myself, and take my rightful place as the ruler of all of you insignificant germs. The first step in my plans to gain my power is to eliminate you. The only way for me to take the pharaoh's power by the rules of the Shadow Realm is to gain his Shadow Item and control of the three legendary beasts. I already have two of the three beasts, Obelisk and Ra. All I need is your monster, the deadly Slifer. Its power is nearly unlimited and I will control it once you are dead. The boundless power of the pharaoh shall be mine and there is nothing anyone can do to stop me,"

"What you're planning is not possible. The power of the pharaoh belongs to Yami. Your mad plan to take it will never succeed. Yami will never give up his Shadow Item and you will never be able to take control of our Slifer. You will fail the same way that your miserable minion has. Everyone you send after us will be stopped,"

"I look forward to seeing your best efforts. It should make for terribly great entertainment. For the time being, you should try and have some fun with the couple hundred thousand of my demons that you failed to destroy in your battle with Kagato. They have been waiting ever so patiently. I hope you don't have too boring a time though,"

"Kiram, we will find you and put an end to your sick game. You can count on that,"

The army of demons prepared to attack as the picture of Kiram disappeared. The queens de-fused and drew their true shadow items. The army was closing in. They backed off and rose into the air. The two freshly defused queens directed their items at the army. In a tremendous blast, the entire army was wiped out. The queens then began to discuss the events with each other.

"That man is crazy. He'll likely stop at nothing to get Yami's power. We need to do something," said Rini.

"Yes, I know, but what? We don't know what he really looks like or where he is hiding out. For all we know, he could be walking around in our own kingdom under cover,"

"We need to go to the Shadow Realm and talk to Yami. He needs to know what is going on and we can find out what he thinks we should do,"

"I agree. We have to do something before there is real trouble,"


	5. Chapter 4 - The End of Yami?

**CHAPTER 4: The End of Yami?**

The queens left for the Shadow Realm the next day and were at the palace of Yami in no time. The palace of Yami was something of a wonder. It would be better to describe it as a mix between a fortress, the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre and London Castle.

The grand palace was enthralled in gold. It shone and shimmered in the light. It looked as if it floated at the edge of a cliff looking over a deep, serene, beautifully blue lake. The only way to make it into the palace is to fly in. It is nearly impossible to break into the castle. If the powerful shield that protects the palace does not stop the invader, then the intricate labyrinths and the many dragons lurking around the forbidden passages will surely put an end to that incursion. No one knows for sure if there ever was an attempt on the palace. You see, with such a strong defense, there would be no sign of an invasion. The body would simply be left there. To make it even more difficult, outside the doors to the pharaoh's chamber was his favorite pet, a powerful dragon of the Serpent Night family. He liked to call it Suzami. Even further protection on the outside was four of the most legendary dragons known to the world. They rested in the depths of the lake. There is no ordinary dragon that can match the power of those dragons. They are the Blue Eyes White Dragons. No one can even boast that they made it into the castle and turned back. If they tried, the four incredible dragons would have vaporized their bones. The only ones who are believed to be able to make it through this highly dangerous and fortified facility is a guest of the pharaoh.

The queens were making their way towards the front door of Yami's chamber. The tall double doors were decorated with the sign of the pharaoh, the fabled Twin Crescent Moon symbol that became popular during the reign of the pharaohs later in the future as the symbol of an incredibly high-powered user of magic. The only others to hold this symbol were the queens. The pharaoh's symbol was unique however. It was centered in a triangle. This symbol represented the power of the pharaoh, the Shadow Pyramid. From within the shadows crawled Suzami into the candle lit hall.

"Hello Suzami. How is Yami doing? Has he been feeding you well?" asked Anzu. Suzami gave a small hissing sound as Rini and Anzu petted it. The chamber doors opened slowly. In the doorway appeared the former ruler of the Sancrien Kingdom, the one who left the kingdom in the highly capable hands of the new queens. The same powerful ruler who departed to the Shadow Realm to forever protect the people of the world and whose reign as pharaoh was in danger by a strange new person who claims to maintain powers equal if not greater than that of even the pharaoh.

"Hello Yami. How are you?" said Rini.

"Hello Rini and Anzu, I'm fine. I hope you can say the same thing," replied Yami.

"We are as good as can be expected. We do have a rather serious matter to discuss which is why we are here today to talk to you," answered Anzu.

"Yes. You mentioned a potentially dangerous new player who helped Kagato gain the power he used in his campaign against the Earth. Come in. Let's sit and discuss this matter further,"

Yami turned and walked inside. The queens and Suzami followed him inside and the doors closed behind them.

The inside was lavishly decorated. Within the chamber was a fountain made of white gold. On the sides of the fountain were hieroglyphic like symbols. One of the symbols Rini noticed was a symbol of several Shadow Items including that of Rini, Anzu and Yami. The walls were draped with large portraits of people, a few that neither of the queens had ever seen before but knew almost as well as if they had. On each wall was a door supposedly leading to another of the pharaoh's other chambers. On the far side of this room were a couch and a few chairs with a center table. On the wall across from the seats were three special portraits. In the center of the trio was Yami's portrait. He was standing in his usual outfit; a pair of long blue slacks, a black sleeveless shirt and his blue cape fastened around his neck. Also around his neck was his Shadow item, the item that held the power of the pharaoh, the Shadow Pyramid.

The Shadow Pyramid is an incredible item. In its standard form, it takes the form of a pyramid. When called upon, it transforms into an array of items. Because Yami is the most powerful magic user in the Shadow Realm, his pyramid is usually seen as a magic staff.

On his belt is a case. In the case is a deck of cards. This is his deck for the Shadow Duel. The Shadow Duel is the ultimate of the Shadow Games. When challenged for his power, he often accepts the challenge in the form of this Shadow Duel. Yami had formed this deck in the best of his ability and has yet to face defeat in a battle. His deck contains many of the best magic and monsters in the world. Ones that you should probably know are Slifer, the Blue Eyes White Dragon, Serpent Night Dragon and one you do not know yet, Dark Magician. This card resembles Yami in many ways. It is rumored to have been created to mimic Yami and his forefathers in many ways.

They sat down on the couch. Suzami followed close behind and curled up at the feet of Yami. Yami settled himself in his seat and gently rubbed his beloved pet's head.

"Now, I'm also interested in seeing this fusion that you used in the battle, it sounds interesting,"

"Sure. We'll be glad to show it to you. It would actually be easier for her to explain it," replied Anzu. The two queens began to build their power. There was a swirl of wind and then a bright flash of light. Yami looked on as though he were a mere spectator at a sporting event. From out of the light once again appeared the beautiful and powerful Anastasia.

"Ahh, very impressive! I can see that this is a very useful technique in a difficult battle,"

"Yes. It could be a very fun technique as well,"

"That will have to wait. For now, you were going to tell me about some new evil,"

"Yes. The battle against Kagato was easy. I had purposely drawn it out to see how much his powers had been increased by the person who gave him his demon powers. From what I could tell, his strength, although it was nowhere near sufficient, had increased exponentially. It is not clear how he received his powers but he had made a deal in which he was to completely destroy you and me. After I had ended the match, an image appeared in the sky. The figure wore a black cloak that covered his head. His face was hidden in shadows. He held a golden staff in his left hand. On the hood and on the staff was your symbol, the Twin Crescent Moons. He said that he was from the past. He wants to claim my Shadow Item and my Slifer for himself. In addition, he is looking to take your Shadow Item. His ultimate goal is to somehow use your item, my item, and my Slifer in combination with two beasts he already posses and steal away your powers to replace you as pharaoh. He calls himself Kiram.

"I do not know the true extent of his power but I fear it may actually be something of which we should be concerned. It takes a lot of magic to transform a human into a demon and even more to increase the power level of a hybrid as great as he did. He also seems to have the ability to greatly influence the minds of others. It may even be mind control. Kagato was not one to usually team up with others unless he was in charge. In this case, he seemed to be following every command of Kiram. He was definitely not like his normal self and it was not just because of his demon transformation,"

"Kiram… I never thought that I would have to deal with him. On the wall over there to the left is a picture of Kiram in his younger years. He was a high priest in the court of my father. He had been accused of attempting to usurp the throne of my father Yamiyugi. He was discovered and put in the Dark Spire south of here. He stayed there for several years before he somehow managed to escape. He returned to the palace and attacked. Many guards and officials were killed. My father fought with him and he thought that he was killed. He was almost in position to take control.

"The only thing that could stop him was me. I was the next in line as pharaoh. In addition, I was the one with the Shadow Item required. He came after me. I was young so I now do not remember what it was I did but I was somehow able to stop him. He was incredibly weakened. After that incident, Kiram literally disappeared off the face of this world. For years the royal guards of the elite Sekiha were trying to locate and recapture him. There wasn't a sign of him anywhere. They had finally given up by the time I had taken my place as the unofficial ruler. I had hoped that he would never return but it looks like I will have to face him at least one more time,"

"So what should we do now? Do we let him run himself out?"

"I think that for now it is best to leave him be. Eventually he will show himself to challenge us. When he does, we will be able to put an end to this,"

"And we will deal with his minions as they come?"

"Yes. We will take them out as they come. They will be nothing and a much simpler task to deal with without plunging into a costly war,"

The two friends seemed strangely calm while discussing this serious issue. It appeared to be more like a game to the two of them. The appearance of someone with the potential to actually cause them worry was an excitement to them. Whatever the challenge, they never backed down and were never outclassed in battle. They knew no fear and were willing to go at it with anyone who was bold enough to try their power.

After the meeting, the two engaged in a few friendly games. They played a game of Shadow Duel. They also went on a ride with their pets and went on to have a training battle against each other. The power of Yami, the queens and their pets always seemed to multiply as they finished a battle no matter how difficult the battle was. The way they went along their daily lives was as though they had nothing in the world to worry about or have fear of. This easygoing nature of theirs also gave them an aurora of invincibility.

As morning fell, Yami and the queens bid farewell. The queens returned to the Sancrien Kingdom. When they arrived at the kingdom they were amazed and awestruck by the scene they saw. The outer edges of the kingdom were completely destroyed. A force had swept through and laid waste to everything that once stood in that spot. The ground was still burning and screams could be heard moving toward the Sancrien castle.

The queens quickly moved towards the castle in the hope of stopping any further destruction. As they did so they met the cause of the trouble. The aggressor was a blast from the past. It was none other than Hiei. Although the form resembled Hiei, he had gone through some very obvious changes likely to be a gift from Kiram.

"Hiei, how is it that your despicable form has made it back to this world? I thought that we rid ourselves of you once and for all?" demanded Rini.

"I have been under the direct command of Lord Kiram since the days when that false king Yami was ruling this kingdom. I am the right hand man of Lord Kiram. We have been planning to eliminate you three for some time and that time is now. You will face your destruction soon," replied Hiei.

"That is what you think Hiei. Despite your new powers, you are still no match for us. If you continue this senseless and hopeless crusade, you will face defeat once again and this time we will not go easy on you. Yami thought that you might change your ways. But I think that he would agree now that you are a hopeless cause," answered Anzu.

As the queen prepared to take on the evil Hiei a demon appeared in front of Hiei.

"Master Hiei. Lord Kiram says that it is time to begin. He requests that you meet him at once," said the demon messenger.

"I would love to do battle with you now but it is time to put an end to you all once and for all in another way. I bid you farewell, forever," responded Hiei.

Hiei disappeared in a bright flash and his demon army continued forward wreaking havoc. The queens quickly summoned Slifer. It eliminated the army and the queens began to contemplate the current predicament.

"What could Kiram be planning to do? Hiei said that it was time and that he would be saying goodbye to us forever," said Anzu.

"He must be going after Yami's Pyramid. It is the power in it that Kiram seeks. We must go to Yami immediately. We have to do something before Kiram gets the power he seeks," replied Rini.

They went right to the palace to find the doors broken down. They entered and saw a great deal of damage to the interior. The queens made their way towards Yami's chamber. They used the secret passage of which there had yet been any signs of intrusion. When they reached the chamber they found Yami alone inside.

"Yami, what is going on? The palace is in ruins," shouted Rini.

"Yes, I know. It's Kiram. He has attacked and is on his way to my royal chamber to get my Shadow Item. I just got word from one of the guards. I must get there before he gets his hands on it!" replied Yami.

They made their way off to the royal chamber. When they arrived, they found the guards all dead and the doors wide open. Inside, Kiram and Hiei were making their way through the few guards remaining. Yami shouted out towards the two invaders.

"You two, stop right there. Do not go any further,"

"Ah, Pharaoh, you've made it. And you've bought your friend along with you. It doesn't matter anyway. I have already taken what I have come here for, your Shadow Item that holds your power. With it, I can now take my rightful place as pharaoh by draining the power from your weak vessel," declared Kiram.

"You cannot. I will not allow it. With that power in your hands this world will be plunged into a deep and long lasting age of misery for the people. You must fail," replied Yami.

"There is nothing that you can do. It is already in my grasp. I have some of its power in me as we speak. In mere moments I shall complete the ritual chant and absorb all the power within into myself. It's over. Face it; you have lost!"

Kiram began to speak a chant quietly while holding Yami's item. A great energy began to engulf the room. Yami fell to his knees and was obviously undergoing some degree of pain.

"Yami! Are you alright?" the queens asked.

"He is draining my power. There is only one way to stop him. I must lock my spirit away inside my item and spread its pieces to the wind,"

"But you can't! There will no longer be anyone who can stand in Kiram's way. He would be free to do as he pleases,"

"No. He requires my powers to succeed at his desires. By locking myself away and scattering my item, there will be a great vacuum in which he will subsequently lose most of his power. It is the only way,"

With that, Yami used his last bit of power to lock his spirit away inside his Shadow Item. The golden pyramid began to glow and then exploded into many pieces. Kiram held a shocked look on his face. Suddenly he too fell to the floor as though suffering a severe blow. The pieces of the pyramid began to glow. They swirled around in a circle. Below them appeared a golden box. On the box were the crescent moons. The pieces spiraled down into the box. Once the last piece made its way inside, a golden lid to match the box appeared and sealed away the powerful pieces. There was then an incredible light and then, darkness.


	6. Chapter 5 - Asami Miyako

**Chapter 5: Thesis Presentation by Asami Miyako**

"M-Ms. Miyako! Please, Ms Miyako, slow down a bit!" a young man called, carrying a portfolio and pulling a large suitcase on wheels with a number of additional folders.

It was a bright and pleasant day. From the atmosphere of the people about, it could be assumed that it was late spring on a university campus. The mix of tension and joy in the air was unmistakable. It was the feeling from students preparing for another semester to end, for some to graduate, and for most to take exams. For all these reasons, the atmosphere was a little more subdued than usual. Not everyone was in the kind of rush that this gentleman, Keita Aono, was in. Technically, Keita was a high school student. He was a fairly bright kid who managed to get an internship working with the Ms. Miyako who he was trying to catch up to right now.

"You'll have to move a little faster Keita. I told you that you should have brought everything for the setup much earlier," Ms. Miyako stated, looking back at Keita.

"Sorry, it's just such an interesting report and I got caught up reading it," Keita said with a laugh.

"So, you think it's interesting?"she said a little disheartened. "I was hoping for a better critique than that,"

"No, no, I just don't know where to begin. I mean, there's so much interesting stuff in there. I was wondering what you were going to do with that kind of research. You're really young and you're about to get a PhD, you're just really amazing," Keita adulated bright-eyed.

"Flattery at this point would be pointless, so I'll assume you actually mean it," she chuckled.

"Well of course I mean it. I wouldn't have begun to work as your assistant if I didn't have an interest in this sort of thing,"

"Even so, as a high school student I didn't expect that you would understand so much of such a theoretical thesis,"

"Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of stuff I still have to learn in order to fully understand it all, but I do get some of the basics, especially the part about the social construct resulting in the aftermath of such a discovery. So are you going to go work for some government space agency? Or maybe you can start your own private company?"

"Not quite," she giggled again, touched by his enthusiasm. "I've already decided. I will be overseeing a research and development department at a company in Crystal Point City,"

"What kind of company?" he asked, surprised to hear she made a decision. It was something he had always thought about asking her.

"I'm sure it's nothing like what you're imagining. It's really just a gaming company, but I will have the chance to work in an area that I have a keen interest in and as much funding as I wish,"

"Really? Couldn't you do that as a professor? That would be awesome! I could study under you!" he spilled forth his true wish. The idea of his mentor working in a gaming company didn't fit the image of the scientist he thought of her as.

"Sorry, Keita, but you'll have to find a different plan. Why don't we continue this discussion after my presentation," Asami said as she opened the door to the school building in which she was to make her presentation.

Asami Miyako was a relatively young student set to obtain her doctoral degree in the area of Experimental Psychology and Biological Science. Her doctoral thesis was on a somewhat unique topic; the social impact on the discovery of non-human, human level intelligent life either on Earth or an observable planet. The position the thesis takes is that prior analysis of the subject is outdated, Western centric, inadequate, and thereby overstates the level of social turmoil and upheaval that is likely to take place. In a rather robust analysis that included theories on the likelihood of discovering life not from Earth, what it is likely to look like, and evaluation of likely first contact from both sides, she determined that the quality of the experience was likely to be heavily influenced by the time of the revelation, the manner in which it comes about, and is thus an ever evolving interpretation. However, she estimates that probability of social collapse is an ever decreasing likelihood as social practices and events have reformed the psychological landscape such that the question of "alien" life has changed from whether or not it exists to when it will be proven to exist.

This room was not vey grand in size for a university campus, one of the smaller 30 or 40 student capacity presentation rooms. It was virtually empty now for this presentation save the panel of would-be judges that would be hearing this presentation, and a small group of students looking for something to do as a break from studying, or like Keita was intrigued by this subject matter, or even just heard that a 27 year old was about to gain their doctorate. With Keita handling the technology side of the presentation, advancing her slideshow for her and such relatively small tasks, Asami eloquently delivered her presentation, her nervousness well hidden if there were any there at all. As per the process, once the general presentation was completed, came the question and answer period during which Asami had to defend her thesis to the trio of department faculty.

"Ms. Miyako, you've given a very compelling presentation today. Your thesis is both simple in its basic idea, yet incorporates a complex array of fine points. As you aptly point out in your dissertation, the question has been addressed in a sort of piecemeal fashion, but not in a highly succinct and cohesive manner. I must confess that partly that is due to the rather obscure nature of such research. It is research which, though compelling and somewhat intriguing, is likely to have minimal impact within the scientific community. Could you explain a bit more of why you selected this specific topic?"

"Certainly. As you've stated, this is an obscure topic that has only been addressed in a manner relating to other research. The question of the belief of life on other planets or alien visitation to Earth previously was only done in the context of understanding human psychology in terms of the susceptibility to belief in such claims. The purpose behind this research project was to take that question a step further and look at the question of what sort of response there would be if an alien life was encountered on Earth, from every perspective,"

"In your dissertation, you also address at length the distinction of first contact. In other words, you emphasize that the party which initiates contact, whether it be Earth or an alien entity, would have a marked influence on how that event progresses. You even go so far as to say that if a single nation were to initiate contact over an international body such as the United Nations, the tone of the subsequent dialogues and overall societal effect could be much different. You also make a connection to the level and sophistication of technology as a critical component. Please elaborate on why you think this is?"

"The instance of first contact, if we are talking about an alien species is certain to be determined by the technological advancement of both sides. Projects such as SETI utilize radio waves based on the idea that a human level intelligent species would utilize that form of technology and therefore we would be able to pick up radio waves from their own transient transmissions between one another. Suppose this is the extent of contact that is viable. Communication and interaction would be virtually impossible due to almost certain language barriers. At the same time, this outcome would have the smallest societal impact. It's not to say that there would not be drastic outcomes. Simply that among all outcomes, this is likely one of the least likely to result in devastating social upheaval. Conversely, if it were an alien existence which were to initiate contact and they were to demonstrate a much higher level of technology, the least among these being rapid interstellar travel and communication, current human psychology would most likely result in the most dramatic case of social disturbance. I use the infamous _War of the Worlds_ incident as a basis because it is the closest we can get to a true experiment. Humans have come a long way since then, but humans likely have a way to go yet,"

"You state that many questions in opposition to the ideas of alien life have been hampered by the growth of such thinking in popular media and its conflict with government denial of recognition of any such threat or the extremist factions within those who believe in alien life. Please restate your findings on this, as well as the view you personally have on this,"

"The conclusion I arrive at, and the conclusion I agree with, is that society has certain assumptions that are against what it factually accurate. The public debate has incorrectly been framed as either in agreement that there is no intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, or there is. Deceptively this does make some logical sense. This opinion in turn is formed based on the precept that there is little chance of successful, timely, travel from outside this solar system, since there is relative certainty that our solar system is devoid of any intelligent life. I equate this argument to the thinking of early civilizations here on Earth whom did not believe there were other peoples on this planet because they could neither see nor travel to where these other civilizations were. It is natural to think, to some extent, that what cannot be seen is likely to not exist. However, this thinking is incorrect for the scientific community, I believe. The assumption that alien life is either highly advanced beyond our capability or simply doesn't exist leaves a vast array of possibilities abandoned. The inability to accurately gauge the age of the universe, or the relation of the Earth's age to the rest of the universe could very well mean that Earth is among the youngest systems in the universe with life well established elsewhere. It could also well be that Earth is among the oldest and no life exists anywhere else. The point, however, is that so little is actually known that any assumptions not strongly backed by firm evidence do a great disservice to any attempts at substantive discussion,"

"In your report, you seem to avoid the topic of whether aliens have actually visited Earth or not. While it can be understood that such is a dynamic indirectly addressed, should it not be addressed more directly?"

"The revelation that alien life ever visited Earth is most likely to be of less consequence than discovery that alien life actually exists. It isn't hat discovery of alien visitation to Earth would be without significance, only that it has become inextricably linked that discovery of alien life would precipitate any discussion of visitation. The predominantly problematic issue would be if there were an alien species which not only visited Earth, but remained. This type of discovery would lead to a question of how it has gone undiscovered for so long, as well as what effect a prolonged presence had. As I do address in the report, there is a segment of alien conspiracy theory which suggests that aliens have some sort of shape-shifting ability or have interbred with humans to adopt more human-like characteristics to become indistinguishable from humans. Of course this is a theory with no possible scientific footing and would be tantamount to suggesting a human and even a primate could successfully interbreed with an offspring that would bear any resemblance at all to a human. Ultimately the question of whether or not intelligent aliens exist or not is not as important as whether there is a belief that they do. It is comparable to whether an individual buys into the narrative of a conspiracy theory or not, regardless of the realities at work,"

"In connection with that answer, you suggest that the impact of discovery of some extraterrestrial species is mostly exaggerated by the belief, in your opinion the false belief, that religious ideas would be threatened by such a discovery. To defend your point, you cite a number of polls from various countries, many of which show data that says more than 75% of people feel that their religious beliefs would not be challenged by such a discovery. To what degree do you weigh this part of your research?"

"I think like all parts of my research, there is a side of the information that speaks for itself. The data used is the best available on the subject. On the other hand, the use of polls is always at least slightly flawed science. My approach is to use what is suggested by the data of these polls, rather than the raw data provided by the polls. That is to say, I don't look at it as 70% of people feel no threat to their religious beliefs from the discovery of alien life. Instead, as I try to show in my report, it shows that there is a tendency of people to not associate one with the other. I also use the variety of polls to display the fact that the reaction will be varied by location. For example, there is a great exposure to the idea of extraterrestrial life in the United States. However, there are other nations which have little exposure and one would therefore expect would react in a different manner. Then there are of course sects within nations, or religions themselves, that are based on the idea that there is extraterrestrial life. For these groups, such a discovery would only serve to bolster their beliefs. I would like to restate the point, however, that these are all relative terms. It cannot be said that all effects would be negligible, only that the often purported claim of complete societal upheaval would be an exaggeration based on the available evidence,"

"I would like you to take a step outside of the framework of an objective scholar and student for a moment. What is your belief concerning the existence or non-existence of extraterrestrial life? Do you believe in it, do you think it's unlikely?"

"Personally I believe that there should be no doubt that there is intelligent life somewhere out in the universe. I don't believe it would be surprising if we were to one day discover that there are a number of intelligent civilizations in the universe besides our own. The vast size of the universe makes it so that to assume that life here on Earth is all that here is to the universe seems to be the height of arrogance. I suspect that those other civilizations are likely a lot like Earth; ignorant of the existence of life elsewhere, but always looking for it,"

"Alright, one final question. Moving forward from this research, you've used a number of primary source research materials such as polls that you yourself conducted in conjunction with several international organizations, a notable accomplishment I might add, as well as a number of applicable research material from scientists and students in other areas of study. It very well may be that your thesis will one day become the basis for others who look to engage in similar research. Where next do you believe that this line of research should go? What application do you believe it has for the future?"

"The best utility for this type of research is in the education on how to deal with these realities. Often times subjects concerning the psyche of people, and the best way of handling such sensitive issues, are left unspoken. I believe that there was a time in which perhaps we could get by with not thinking about such topics since they were so far beyond our scope of understanding or imagination. But, as humanity is beginning to take greater steps into space, and with the growing age of humanity, it is time we think about such things in a serious fashion. If it turns out that nothing comes of it then so be it, however it would be quite unsavory for the time to ever come that humanity is unprepared to deal with the encounter of another civilization unprepared only because of humanity's reluctance to explore such questions. It is my hope that my own work in this paper would be used in furtherance of such studies and research. It may not be necessary to treat it as an emergency situation or dire circumstance, but it should be time that serious discussions begin,"

"Thank you, Ms. Miyako. On behalf of my colleagues, I would like to state how impressed we are with your drive and accomplishments, and will carefully make our decision,"

"Thank you very much,"

The panel stood up and began to file out. The gallery of onlookers, which managed to not thin out over the course of the presentation, took this opportunity to applaud her. For them, it was a given that she would be approved for her doctorate in no time. And for her research assistant, Keita, it was a bittersweet victory. It was without a doubt a great accomplishment to be associated with such a success story, but in a short time they would be going their separate ways. So as they packed up the presentation and she offered to treat him to a celebratory lunch, he wondered about what she'd said earlier. If she truly were to go to Japan and work for a gaming company of all things…

"You seem very distracted, Keita," Asami said while they were sitting to lunch.

"Ah, really? Sorry. I guess I'm really excited about you finally finishing with that presentation. You spent a lot of time and effort in it," he chuckled as he tried to cast aside her inquiry.

"Shouldn't I be the one spacing out?" she said with a motherly smile.

"Heh, heh… Hey, I was wondering about something you said,"

"I was wondering when you were going to ask,"

"Huh?"

"Never mind; tell me, what did you want to know?"

"Well, at the end of your presentation, when they asked you about whether you believed in aliens or not, I was wondering if that was really what you thought,"

"Well, I will admit I wasn't totally honest,"

"Really?"

"Would you be surprised if I told you I was an alien?"

"What?" Keita fell out of his chair as he recoiled from the surprise. It caused quite the scene, and had several other patrons looking in his direction. A maid came to their table and asked if everything was alright, to which Keita apologized about a dozen times for troubling everybody. All the while, Asami held down a laugh.

"Geez, you shouldn't say things like that all of a sudden,"

"Sorry, I didn't think your reaction would be quite so dramatic. Do you mind telling me why you reacted that way?"

"Why? I guess because I didn't think an alien would look like you. I mean, you're really beautiful and smart and a lot of people look up to you. I always figured an alien would look like some lizard creature or something like that,"

"One of the questions I left unanswered in my report was what effect perception of form would have on reactions. In other words, exactly like just now. It is a very difficult task to quantify emotions. I can imagine the questions that flowed through your head when I said that I was an alien. You thought about whether there were any signs you missed that might have told you I wasn't from Earth, where I came from, how long had I been on Earth, is this what I really look like, why didn't I say anything before, why I would tell you now? All these questions have an emotional charge to them that is hard to calculate. A simple poll wouldn't accurately measure it. That would have been a little too much for the scope of my research.

"Perception of form is all about the way humans perceive other people and objects based on their appearance. The conception of what an alien is supposed to look like is that it is some inhuman form that is troubling or difficult to look at. If it were to turn out that aliens looked like a human and had aesthetic appeal, then the reaction would probably be much like yours,"

"I guess it would be important," Keita mused as he thought it over.

"Many scientists used to say that it was impossible for aliens to exist, and that perceptions of what aliens would look like were based solely on personal aesthetics for how it was thought aliens would be received. For example, often the stories of aliens as being evil or dangerous are those in which they have forms that least resembles humans and most resemble those things people fear most like insects or reptiles. On the other hand, the more placid stories involve more human like aliens,"

"Which do you think is right?"

"I don't know one is any more right than the other. I believe there are a number of different worlds out there that have life on them, and they likely take any number of forms,"

"I guess you really can't guess what an alien would be like based on how it looks,"

"Like people?"

"Aha ha ha… I see your point,"

"Let's change topics a little. Assuming aliens have visited Earth at some point in human history, how many different times, or different kinds, do you suspect would have visited?"

"How many? Well, I would guess it can't be that many. I mean, even if some other life form from some other planet could travel here, it can't be that easy. I mean, even here on Earth it's not difficult to make it to the other side of the globe, but most people don't do it unless they have to. My guess is that it would probably be someone like you, a scientist or someone like that doing research. I don't know, maybe it's some rich aristocrat or something on vacation?" Keita chuckled.

"No, no, you're right, that's good. Regardless of where they might come from, any alien society would have to cover a very long distance to get here, and that takes time. Even supposing something like hyperspace travel, or the use of a trans-dimensional bridge were possible, it doesn't lessen the fact that it isn't as simple as going from one city to the next. It would take much time and effort even for the capability of leaving the planet. There would certainly need to be a substantial financial backing to achieve space flight, let alone from one solar system to another. They would be a wealthy entrepreneur, or more likely one or more governments,"

"Is your job going to be something like that?"

"Didn't I mention already that it would be working at a gaming company?"

"Oh yeah, that's right, guess I forgot,"

"It's not a problem,"

"Why did you want to work at a gaming company?"

"The owner is a very close friend of mine. She asked me to help her a long time ago, so I said I would join her when I was done with my doctorate,"

"I didn't know she was a friend,"

"You could say that we grew up together, almost like sisters. I'll be taking over as the vice president and chief operations officer in a few months,"

"That's really amazing,"

"It'll be a lot of work, not to mention the responsibilities of the research department I'll be starting,"

"What kind of research?"

"Mostly technology. Serenity is interested in the use of holographic technology to enhance her game,"

"Holograms? Is something like that really possible?"

"It shouldn't be too much trouble to do something like that right now in the setup of a stadium or a similarly large format. What she really wants is something on a much smaller scale that can produce large images but be portable enough to carry around in your pocket,"

"It doesn't really seem like your job is going to have anything to do with your degree,"

"That's probably true," she laughed.

"Why'd you choose to study something like this?"

"It's interesting, thinking about how people react in different situations, understanding how cultures and societies work internally and externally. Understanding behavioral patterns of large groups as well as individuals is a skill that can always be useful, even if my job won't require it on a regular basis. But as an executive of a company, it will be helpful for establishing group dynamics and achieving the best application of individual potential within that setting. I have another friend – he's really a friend of a friend. He works in government, so I think I will be able to help him too,"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you make it sound like you're only doing stuff for other people,"

"I guess it would sound that way. Really, it is all just my whim though. I'm just doing what interests me. Like I suggested in my thesis, individuals have limited responsibilities, and everything outside of that is their own discretion. People should be free to exercise their discretion in whatever they want once they've fulfilled their responsibility,"

"That's more of a willful thing to say than I thought you'd say,"

"I know that you wanted to keep working with me so my decision is a bit disappointing. But I hope that you continue to pursue your interests without worrying about me. Find something you like and pursue it with all of your heart,"

"Well, I like research, especially technology, but I don't think my interests will cross with yours at that game company,"

"Perhaps. You're welcome to call me anytime if you need anything,"

"Thanks,"

"We should get going now," Asami said as she stood up. She removed some money from her pocket and placed it on the table. "I need to head to the restroom a moment. I'll be right back,"

"Sure,"

Keita sat at the table after Asami left, staring down at it, first with a serious face, but then with a big grin on like he was thinking of something embarrassing. Meanwhile, in the restroom, Asami washed her hands and began to stare into the mirror. There was a ripple across the mirror, as if it were somehow the surface of a lake. When the ripples flattened back out and the mirror was a smooth surface once more, what was reflected in the mirror wasn't Asami, but a young woman, probably a little younger than Asami, with long ice-blue hair and red eyes.

"Well, well, I think someone has a little crush on you," the reflection mocked as clearly as if it were a real person standing in the room beside Asami.

"Not at all. It's nothing more than a student's admiration of a teacher. I happen to know already that there is a girl in his class that he has been trying to impress,"

"Really?"

"Yes. I met her only a couple of times. Her parents are archaeologists. I believe you've worked with them on digs in Egypt and India separately,"

"Oh, those two? Their daughter is a cutie. Although, I'm sure you could steal him away if you wanted,"

"I don't think of lewd ideas all the time like you, Serenity. I have no such interest in Keita. Besides, what problems do you think that would cause for you and Kenshin?"

"Don't be like that, although I'm a bit happier you think better of our relationship,"

"I still don't approve of you having such a relationship with your brother, but my opinion doesn't really matter, does it,"

"You're such a stick in the mud. You're done with that business with school now, so relax. We can finally get back to just waiting around. I have a very good feeling that the time's almost here. I don't think it'll be much longer until it's over,"

"It would certainly be nice to see the others again. We weren't particularly close with them before, were you?"

"Like you said, we did help him with government stuff once in a while, but I wasn't really that interested in doing something so troubling full time,"

"It was an inconvenience, us not all being together, but that will end, won't it? You say soon, but isn't it still a few years off?"

"I met him by chance that day, but I really think he's the one. He's such a cutie-pie. I think he'll be really handsome when he gets older,"

"From your brother to a little kid… you really are hopeless,"

"A hopeless romantic's better than not being romantic at all,"

"Yugi…"

"Yeah. His gramps was one of the first store owners to agree to give my game a chance, so I'll be sure to treat him well,"

"I believe it's customary for the groom's family to give gifts to the bride's family, not the other way around, much less before he's old enough to even start thinking about women,"

"You aren't gonna let that go, are you?"

"If you get yourself in trouble, it's the same as getting me in trouble,"

"I guess that's true in its own way. So, where you goin' now?"

"I have a few things to finish up back on campus. Later this evening there's a school festival at Keita's high school,"

"A festival? It is that time of year, isn't it? Wow, I wish I could go,"

"Why don't we switch?"

"Really?"

"I'm only going because Keita invited me, but I'm not terribly interested in things like that,"

"I see, I see, it's all good then. I'll have plenty of fun for the both of us,"

"Please do," Asami ended. The mirror rippled once more, her own reflection returning. "I guess I should be there at the end, otherwise Keita might feel abandoned. But with Serenity there, Keita should have a good opportunity to hang out with kids his own age instead of following me around,"


	7. Chapter 6 - The Reawakening

**CHAPTER 5: The Reawakening**

There was nothing but darkness. A small sound could be heard. There was then a faint glow. In the center of the glow was Anastasia. She was standing calmly. The light around her disappeared. There was a bright burst of light as the chamber in which Anastasia stood was lit by dozens of torches.

The room was strange. It was as though it was an impossible maze. The area resembled that of an ancient temple. There were stairs every which way. It was like there was a deep dark secret hidden here that was not supposed to be discovered.

In front of the supposed body of the queen was the figure of the great pharaoh Yami. He seemed to be in a deep sleep. The queen gently nudged the sleeping king. He began to stir and finally awoke.

"What... what is going on?"

"Yes, you are finally awake my pharaoh. It is great to see that you are still well,"

"Yes I am fine, but who are you and who is this pharaoh that you speak of?"

The queen was shocked to discover that Yami had seemingly lost his memories of the past. She did know what must be done.

"I have much to tell you so listen well. Your name is Yami. You are the pharaoh of a now long since disappeared civilization. You are one of the only survivors. We are now inside a golden pyramid. It is your Shadow Item, the key to your power. You will be trapped inside this item until the day the one that could have been pharaoh discovers and brings together the pieces into one whole form again. Only then can you once again walk this Earth. You must then protect the world from the return of the great evil that threatens to engulf this world as it did those millennia ago. I must leave you now, as your newest journey is about to begin. I bid you farewell and wait to see your return to where you belong. Good luck my king. I know that you will be successful in your quest,"

Yami stood there trying to absorb what he has just heard. Having lost all his memories what he was being told was immensely confusing. Before he could ask a question of Anastasia, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and waved goodbye. As she waved, her figure vanished like fog. Yami was now all by himself in the confines of his Shadow Item.

It had not been long since the event of his awakening inside his item. He had been in this area exploring when he sensed a strange feeling. He had been here for what he thought was at least a week but had never even felt the slightest bit of hunger. He had approached a door in the immense chamber. He felt a sense of familiarity emanating from behind the door.

He opened it. Inside was a long corridor. On the walls were large portraits. On the portraits were strange monster-like creatures. Yami walked down the hall and came to a large chamber. On the walls were more portraits. These pictures were of Yami, Anastasia and some people that he could not remember but knew he had come across before. The rooms made Yami feel safe and happy. He would now spend all his time that he was not exploring in this chamber. Although he had explored a lot, he had never discovered anything but rooms with strange tablets with cryptic messages he could not read engraved on them.

It must have been one month when something weird began to happen. The chambers of the item began to warp around him and expand. This turbulent change ended in a relatively short time. When it did, Yami had noticed that there was now a new door in the chamber where he had awoken. He walked through this door and found himself in an open area. On the other side was an entire new area. It seemed to be the same size of the area that he was already used to seeing. On another side of this area was what seemed to be a window.

Yami gazed out the window and was amazed to see an entire city. It was amazing to him. He was apparently inside the mind of another person. The person was walking toward a building that had a sign on it that he immediately noticed. It read, "Shadow Duel". The vessel he seemed to inhabit approached a young woman. She reminded Yami somewhat of Anastasia. And her voice nearly matched hers perfectly.

"Hey Yugi!" said the young woman.

"Hi Tea, what's up?" replied the vessel of Yami.

The vessel of Yami now had a name. It was Yugi. Yami was now interested in this new world that he was in. He suddenly had a strange feeling. A memory flooded into his mind and it seemed to be activated by this boy named Yugi. He suddenly learned of a memory he had, of an ability he had. It was strange. It was an ability that he seemed to know he would need very often.

The boy had later drifted off to sleep. Yami wanted to explore this new area. He reached the entrance of the new chamber. He tried to enter but was held back by a force field. He turned and noticed a table on the other side. It had a piece of paper on it with something written on it. It had a strange encrypted writing on it like the stone tablets with only one readable sentence. It read, "Yamiyugi, King of Games". This sentence surprised Yami. Yamiyugi was his father's name.

This boy's name was Yugi Asakura. Fifteen years old, he was attending the local high school, Crystal Point High School. Fairly private, he wasn't much to leave a big impression. He was a normal kid by all accounts, though a little bit of tragedy had marked his earlier life.

Yugi lived with his grandfather in the rather nice apartment over his card shop. Yugi's grandfather owned the shop that specialized in the sale of Shadow Duel cards. Shadow Duel was a game created by a woman named Serenity Dantes. She was the owner, CEO and President of the Shadow Duel Enterprise, the company that makes anything and everything that has to do with Shadow Duel.

Yugi's grandfather was his only guardian. A very long time ago, long before he moved in with his grandpa, his grandmother mysteriously disappeared. As for his parents, they both died tragically when their car was hit by a truck. While he was miraculously safe in the back seat, both his mother and father were killed instantly. Yugi was only about three or four at the time, so he has no memory of the incident at all.

Dueling was his favorite pastime, bar none. What's more, he's good at it. He was known as a top duelist at his school, but he never participated in tournaments, at least not to anyone's knowledge. He was easy to get along with. He had a strong sense of justice and friendship.

Yugi's best friend is Tea Hawkins. The same age as Yugi, Tea lives with her parents not too far away from where Yugi lives now. She and Yugi knew each other since he first moved in with his grandfather. They spent a lot of time around each other, dueling of course, but just hanging out the way that any two kids their age would. To everyone that knew or saw them, it seemed apparent that they would always be pretty much inseparable.

Tea too attended Crystal Point High School. She walked to school with Yugi every day. She was a bright student, moderately popular. She was something of a stickler for school protocol. She studied all the time, not because she needed to, but because it was expected. The truth was that she seemed to be a receptacle of knowledge.

As a duelist, it is hard to compare her to Yugi since she takes a similar approach to him. The two do not openly participate in tournaments, and have never dueled against one another. They do hold a spotless record up until now. But her favorite thing, besides her friends and dueling, was dancing, at which she was also highly accomplished.

Rounding out the trio of friends is Joey. All in all, he is pretty much average. He is an average guy, who gets average grades, is an average duelist, and has average interests. He first met Yugi and Tea when they went to the same Junior High School. They didn't start out as friends, but that eventually changed.


	8. Chapter 7 - The Power of the Pyramid

**CHAPTER 7: The Power of the Pyramid**

Yugi was on his way home from school. He had around his neck a metal chain and a golden pyramid shaped medallion on it. He stayed back at school for a few minutes longer than normal. As he was walking he once again came across Tea.

"Hey Tea, how are you?"

"Oh, hi Yugi! On your way to your grandpa's shop?"

"Yeah, he should have his new shipment of cards and I want to buy a new pack to strengthen my Dark Magician deck. Afterwards I was thinking of meeting Joey at the usual spot to duel with him to see how my deck flows,"

"Sounds like a plan Yugi. I'll come too,"

They stopped at the card shop and then made their way on to the dueling grounds where they would have their friendly matches. When they got there, Yugi opened his new pack of cards to add to his deck. When he opened the pack, he laid his eyes on a powerful card that he had never seen before, yet it seemed familiar. It was called the Blue Eyes White Dragon. It was powerful. It had an attack and defense factor for the purposes of the game. Its attack was 3000 and its defense was 2500.

When Yugi showed this card to his friends, a duelist came toward him.

"Hello. My name is Seto Hiei Kaiba. I collect rare cards and I want that Blue Eyes. I am willing to give you whatever you want for it. Just name your price,"

"No thanks. I'm not interested in trading away my newest card,"

"If you won't give it to me then I'll duel you for it,"

Yugi was about to turn down the offer for turning over his card in a duel when something strange happened to him.

In Yugi's mind, Yami had been observing the entire event. The name Dark Magician and Blue Eyes White Dragon seemed to strike a chord in his mind. When he heard the name Hiei, he had a sudden urge to battle with him.

Yugi noticed something strange as well. He had only seen this person a couple of times at school and had never talked to him at all. But this time was different. He was all ready to graciously deny a duel with one of the rarest cards he had ever seen on the line and was truly not ready to blindly accept, but a force came from this man with the name Hiei and he wanted to face this power. It was something he couldn't ignore.

The pyramid around Yugi's neck began to glow an incredible bright golden color. Yugi's body was engulfed in the light. There was an incredible gust of air that blew everything around him. Tea and Joey took a step back, shielding their faces from the dust being kicked up.

When the winds faded away and the light disappeared, the form of the great pharaoh Yami stood in the place of Yugi. The king stood in the place of the young boy wearing the same clothes he did those years long ago when he walked among his friends and had his friendly matches.

The change did not go unnoticed by the congregation. The transformation shocked Yugi's friends but seemed to have little effect on Seto, but he did notice.

"Hiei! I accept your challenge. But on one condition, you must accept the same terms. If you want to take my cards from me in a match, then you must turn over one of your own cards to me when you lose,"

"Me? Lose to you? That could never happen. I am the best player of the Shadow Duel that exists in this country. I am undefeated in this region of the world. I have never lost a match and do not intend to lose now, especially not to an inexperienced hack like you. Let's get this match over with so I can claim my prize. Follow me. We will have our match in my specialized arena. It will truly open your mind,"

"It is I who will open your mind Hiei. You are used to getting everything you want. I will teach you a lesson that you are sure to remember. Let's go,"

The two walked off to Seto Hiei Kaiba's own corporation with Yugi's friends following right behind. They arrived to an immense stadium in the basement of the building. There were two towers facing each other where the combatants would stand. The center was a large pit with a grid of nine by nine squares. Yami and Hiei took their places and began the match.

To explain how this particular form of a Shadow Duel works, you have a deck of as many cards as you would like. There are monster cards, magic cards and trap cards. Magic and traps are used to power up monsters. These cards can then be divided further in several other groups. The monster cards have an attack and a defense factor. Each can move several spaces at a time. To summon a certain monster, you need to have enough stars to tribute. Each monster has a star level and this level is the number of stars you need to tribute. If you want to summon a monster of too high a level, then you can tribute as many monsters on the field as necessary to gain enough stars to tribute. There are also certain monsters you can summon that are not in your deck. These are ritual monsters and fusion monsters. Ritual monsters are beasts that are created through the use of special ritual magic cards to fuse the energies of several specific monsters. They are usually very powerful and nearly unbeatable. Fusions are a more common type of special summoning. They may or may not be more powerful than a ritual but there are several examples of fusions that are incredibly more powerful.

You then also have a deck leader. This deck leader has no defense or attack but controls the flow of the duel. Your deck leader is the holder of all your tribute stars. The deck leader is actually any one card that you chose. Each deck leader has specific abilities that can greatly aide in a duel and can even completely change the way a duel is going.

As for the way a duel flows, you begin with your deck leader centered from the left and right edge of the field, against the back edge of the map on your side, five tribute stars, and 5000 life points. Stars replenish at a rate of three per turn, and max out at twelve. The field is where all game play takes place. It is similar to a game of chess except with no pieces on the field at the beginning. There is no limit on the number of monsters you can summon onto the field however; you can only summon one monster per turn. You are limited to summoning only three magic and/or trap cards per turn, and six in total. These cards move across the field to ultimately reach the deck leader. Once in range of the opposing deck leader, a monster can then attack the deck leader directly to reduce the life points. Once life points are gone the person with any life points remaining is declared the winner. Attacking an opponent's monster while it is in attack position will also reduce life points depending on how much higher your own monsters attack is. Be warned, attacking a monster in defense mode with a higher defense than your monsters attack will result in you losing your own life points equal to the difference in factors. An attack higher than a defense in such a case however will result in destroying the monster but there will be no loss in life points.

"I will beat you Yugi; and claim your Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

"Let's get on with it,"

In the opening move, Hiei moved his deck leader forward one space and summoned directly in front of it the monster known as Ryukishin, a monster with average defense and attack factors. Its attack power is 1600 and its defense is 1200.

To respond in his turn, Yami moved his deck leader forward one space as well and summoned his Curse of Dragon, a higher-class monster with 2000 attack and 1500 defense, and another card face down.

"It's your move Hiei, but you better think twice before launching an attack against me or you may regret it,"

"I advance my deck leader one space and place two cards face down. I then attack your Curse of Dragon with my Judge Man,"

"I don't think so. I activate my Trap Hole. Your monster is destroyed,"

"Not so fast Yugi. I activate Judgment of the Sands. This card stops all activated trap cards for the duration of the duel. Now Judge Man, destroy his dragon,"

"No, my dragon!"

"Sorry, Yugi, but if this is the best you can do then I'm afraid that you are wasting your time, and more importantly, mine. I have a company to run. I wouldn't even bother dueling against you if not for the fact that you somehow happened upon a rare and powerful monster such as the Blue Eyes White Dragon. You're a nobody who just happened to get lucky. I intend to take that monster and bestow it within the deck of a person who truly deserves it. Now let's get this over with so I can get on to more important things,"

The duel continued with the duel swaying back and forward. "You see Hiei, I am not one to be easily defeated. I will win this duel,"

"Hah hah hahh! Don't make me laugh. My deck is more than a match for you and I'll prove it," Hiei drew a card and a wide grin swept across his face. "The card I hold is a very rare one. It is actually so rare that there are only six in existence. There are four regular versions and two special editions. I have three of the four regular versions of the card in my hand and you have the fourth. It has an attack and defense 500 lower than that of its special form. Well, why should I delay this any further? I summon a monster with an attack power of 3000 and a defense of 2500. I summon the powerful and unstoppable Blue Eyes White Dragon,"

A brilliant flash of light emerged. It slowly took form until it took the form of the powerful and rare dragon. "Now Blue Eyes, attack his Gaia the Fierce Knight and remove it from the field,"

The dragon let loose its ferocious attack and the Fierce Knight of Yugi disappeared in the light that was expelled from the dragon's mouth.

"You see Yugi, although you are a nobody, I need that card of yours to complete my little collection. To be the number one duelist I must gain control of every rare card that exists in this world and place it in my deck. I also cannot allow a card that could defeat me to wander around and fall into the hands of a duelist that may someday be able to challenge me. To be the strongest I must harness the power of the strongest; that means your Blue Eyes must be mine,"

"Hiei, I do not care about your foolish plans. You have challenged me and now that means you must be defeated. I rely on putting my faith and heart into my duel deck and that is all I need to defeat you. Now let's play,"

Yugi continued to put monsters on the field and one by one Hiei destroyed them. Not too long later, Hiei summoned a second and finally his third Blue Eyes White Dragon.

"It's time to pack it in Yugi. I now have three of the most powerful creatures in Shadow Duel. You don't have a card in your entire pathetic deck that can stop me and you know it. Give up and hand over the fourth Blue Eyes. Or, you could continue until I destroy every weakling in your deck,"

"I put my heart into building this deck. I have always believed in my deck and I know that there is a card somewhere inside it that can help me to win this duel,"

The duel continued with Yugi adding a defense after another. Hiei was growing very impatient and was showing it very blatantly.

"Yugi, I have now drawn the card that will end your miserable attempts to delay the inevitable. I play the trap card Defense Paralysis. It immediately activates when a monster is placed on the field. That monster is then frozen and cannot switch to defense position for the remainder of the duel. This card will trigger when any card is played for the remainder of the duel. Now Yugi, draw your last pathetic card so I can end this pitiful display,"

Yugi looked down at his deck and stared at it for a while. In his mind Yami was doing the same thing with his duel deck. This entire time he had been playing this duel as though it were really him fighting it. Every play, every thought was being played through both minds.

Yami said to himself, "I must believe that there is a card in my deck that can still win this duel for me. I must believe in the heart of the cards,"

Yugi and Yami moved their hands slowly toward the deck. They placed their hands on the decks and closed their eyes. With their eyes tightly shut they both saw a vision in their minds. It was the same for the both for both of them. It was an image of Anastasia and Tea. They drew a card and looked at it. It seemed to have a brilliant shine that made it stand out from every other card. As they looked at it, they gained a little smirk.

"My deck has no pathetic cards Hiei, but it does contain a monster that can put an end to you once and for all. It is a monster that will even make the powerful Blue Eyes White Dragon tremble. It is actually a familiar form to you. I will now put an end to your foolish ideas. I summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon of the Legends. The legendary duel monster that has only one other of itself in the world and few regular monsters can stop it. Now Hiei, face the power of my monster,"

The legendary dragon appeared in a great orb of energy and circled the stage once before landing before the three of its weaker forms. The dragon was larger than its weaker siblings. Unlike what its name implies and what its brethren looked like, this dragon had more of a blue color in its body. Its eyes definitely matched its name to a tee, as they were a dark blue.

"No! It can't be real! There is no way a no talent hack like you could be capable of harnessing a power as great as that! You don't deserve that kind of power! You are nothing compared to me! I am the champion! YOU ARE NOTHING!"

"What I am is sorry that you are so foolish and blind to the fact that you are so inferior to me. You have spent so much time trying to destroy your opponent that you cannot even play one card without it being filled with unjustified hatred towards anyone you face. I hope this defeat today will free your mind of all that unnecessary anger that plagues your heart and clouds your mind. Now my legendary dragon, Blue Lightning Blast!"

With that, the pyramid around Yugi's neck gave off a beam of light from within the Twin Crescent Moons of the Pharaoh. The dragon launched its attack and Seto's life points quickly dropped to zero. The blast sent a large shock wave throughout the entire room. Everyone in the building was desperately trying to brace for the unknown force that was rocking the very foundation of the building, everyone that is except Yugi. He stood in his position at the duel center with his arms crossed staring through the bright light that was still covering the field from when his dragon blasted away Seto.

From the opposite end of the duel arena Seto could be heard repeating constantly, "It cannot be! I am the champion! How can I lose?" A strange dark light surrounded Yugi. The moons on the pyramid began to glow once again but with a greater ferocity than before. On Yugi's forehead appeared the same twin moons. It was multicolored and shining very intensely. Yugi then began to speak.

"Hiei! Your mind is too clouded to understand why you lost this day. The only way you will ever understand is if you open your mind!" When he said that, he raised his hand towards Seto. The pharaoh's eyes grew even brighter. A blast of energy erupted from Yugi's hand and raced forward at Seto. It hit him and he let out a loud scream.

The lights faded and the twin moons disappeared. The dueling platform lowered and the vessel occupied by the ancient pharaoh stepped down. He glanced toward the direction of Seto when Tea and Joey came forward with a concerned look on their face.

"Yugi, are you alright? What did you just do to Kaiba?"

"My name is not Yugi, it is Yami and I did nothing but to clear the mind of Hiei from all the evil influences that clouded him. He will be fine. I do however have a favor to ask of you,"

"A favor? To ask me?"

"Yes. I now share my mind with this young boy. He has a very courageous soul. I want you to look after him for me. I can tell that the future of this world will depend on him one day soon. I must go for now but I shall return. Until then, I leave him in your care. Farewell,"

The pyramid gave of a dull glow. Yugi's body fell limp. Tea and Joey rushed over to Yugi and caught him before he could hit the floor. They desperately spoke to Yugi trying to wake him up. He did not respond. He remained motionless. Meanwhile, Seto had made his way off his platform and was crawling out of the arena, obviously still feeling the effects of the events that just took place.

For about five minutes, Tea cradled the seemingly lifeless body of Yugi. He began to stir. Yugi awoke with a dazed look about him. The very first thing he saw was the bright shining face of Tea with an exuberant smile and a greatly relieved Joey.

"Yugi! I'm so glad you're all right! You gave me such a scare! I wasn't sure you would be okay. You were saying some weird things and then you just passed out,"

"What...what...what are talking about? I can hardly remember anything since Seto challenged me to that duel. Wait, what happened to Seto?"

"You really don't remember anything do you Yugi? You accepted Seto's challenge and then you beat him. It was the most amazing thing that I have ever seen. I never knew your deck had such a rare and powerful monster in it. You seemed so calm and in control," Joey declared.

"I can't seem to remember anything. All I can remember is a strange vision. There's a person that looks sort of like me and he is in a room. The room was lit with a lot of candles. It was obviously old but it wasn't strange to me. There were dead bodies scattered around the room, maybe four or five. Also there were three other people. One looked sort of like Seto and there was another person standing just in front of him. He was moving towards a pedestal that had glass around it. Inside was my pyramid. Next to the figure that looked like me was someone that looked like you, Tea. Then everything goes black. That is all I can remember. How long have I been out?"

"Well the duel took about fifteen to twenty minutes and you passed out for around five minutes more. But you were a different person when you were dueling. I never saw you like that before. I was kind of eerie. I didn't know what to do," Joey continued to beam.

"Half an hour? That is a pretty long time to miss from your memory. Could you try and explain what happened while I was out in a little more detail? But first, let's get out of here. This place is really starting to creep me out,"

The three left the arena and were walking out of the building. Tea and Joey were explaining the entire past half hour to the confused Yugi. They had reached the door when Tea got up to the part when Yugi summoned the Legendary Blue Eyes. Yugi stopped and thought for a second.

"Wait, what's this Legendary Blue Eyes you're talking about? I never heard of it before,"

"How can you have not heard of it? You talked about it as though you had it forever. And right when you were in a tight spot, you just threw it out there as though you knew it was coming. Just look at your deck, it should still be there," Joey suggested.

Yugi looked through his deck. After going through it about three times, he found no such card. "Huh. Whatever it was, it sounds pretty powerful. I would love to have a card like that in my deck,"

They continued out the building. It was around dusk and was getting late. Once Joey was sure that Yugi was okay, he had to run home. In the shadows inside the building, a figure was hiding. When Tea and Yugi left, the figure disappeared without a trace.

Yugi and Tea said goodbye to each other and went home. Yugi was still deep in thought about what had transpired. It made no sense at all. What happened to him that he couldn't remember an entire half hour that had so many events in it? What was this powerful card that he couldn't find in his deck? He had a strange urge to look at his pyramid. When he did, he also thought suddenly of his card box. It was actually the same box that the parts of his pyramid were in. He began to think back to the time when he first found it. It was around one year ago…

That day Yugi was in his grandfather's card shop about to buy a pack of dueling cards. All of a sudden there was a person at the front desk. A hooded figure entered the shop and slowly walked towards Yugi. The person was wearing a very dark blue cloak. It was a female, Yugi could tell that from the hair and by the sound of her voice when she talked to his grandfather.

"Hello, how can I help you?"

"I am here to see the little boy, sir. What I have to say is for his ears and his ears alone. Whether he would like to share what I have to tell him afterwards is up to him. May I talk to you privately my young pharaoh?"

Her initial words confused Yugi. Her voice sounded strangely familiar and calming. But that was only part of it. He had no idea who this person was or why she was calling him pharaoh. As far as he knew, his family had never lived in or had ever had any connections to the line of rulers of ancient Egypt known as the pharaohs. Despite his thoughts, Yugi was compelled to follow the young woman outside the store with his grandfather standing behind the counter as if in a trance. The two were finally outside and began to talk.

"I sense your confusion at my calling you pharaoh. It is just that when I see your face, I remember a person I use to know. If you would prefer, then I shall call you by your given name, young Yugi,"

"How is it you know my name? And what's this all about? Why is it you need to talk to me?"

"I know you have many questions but I cannot answer all of them. It is to ensure the safety of the one who now shares that body with you,"

"What are you talking about? I do not share my body with anyone,"

"Please my King, be at ease and I will explain all that I can. Several millennia ago, an evil demon sorcerer tried to take the life of the young master whom you are sharing that body with. The item around your neck is known as a Shadow Item. Yours is the Shadow Pyramid. All I am here to do today is ask that you take good care of it and the spirit within it as well as yourself. I can sense you have a very courageous heart, much like the pharaoh did.

"Well that is all I have to tell you for now my dear. You shall do great things in your future. Ah, and she will be there with you all along the way. I know that the two of you will support each other. Until next time my pharaoh. Take care," Yugi was going to ask her one last question but she disappeared as a cloud of mist…

Yugi stood there for a minute contemplating what happened back then. He then noticed that up the road, Tea was walking back down towards the card shop with another person. Yugi turned to face them and waved as they came closer.

"Hey Tea, what are you doing here. I didn't expect to see you until tomorrow,"

"What's up Yugi? I wasn't expecting to see you again today either but this lady says her name is Rini. She says her and her sister are both friends of yours,"

All of a sudden, the Shadow Pyramid began to glow. Yugi then transformed into the figure of Yami once again. The look on his face this time was much different than that of before. His face had a smile on it. You could tell that he was much happier this time around.

"Rini? Is it really you? It has been so long since I've seen you,"

"Ah, it has Yami. I have so much to talk to you about. But there is one problem. Tea cannot hear what it is I have to tell you, at least not yet, and neither can the young Yugi. Would you care to do the honors? I'm interested in seeing how much of your powers you truly do remember,"

"I would be glad to. I apologize, Tea but what Rini and I have to discuss is something that you cannot hear yet. Yugi will tell you this when he himself finds out. For now you must go on home. I thank you for reuniting us,"

"Wait, what is going on here? What are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry to have to do this to you Tea, but when the time is right, you shall remember this moment on your own. Until then, you cannot know that she has come here. I truly am sorry. Goodbye for now,"

A light grew out of the pyramid and then in Yami's hand. He placed his hand on her shoulder. There was a blinding flash. Tea turned and walked back up the street in a trance like state.

"Great Yami, now we can talk in peace if you just show the way,"

"It would be best if we went to the Shadow Realm instead of talking around here. There is a small problem, I do not yet have the ability to take us there myself. You will have to help yourself there. It actually amazed me that I even have the power to transport myself through this body. Yugi is one amazing boy. His spirit power is unlike any I have ever seen,"

"Yes, his abilities are incredible," she agreed with a bemused smile. "Let's go, shall we?"

The three left to the Shadow Realm. It was nowhere near the same place it was in the visions of the past they saw. The entire expanse was a barren land of darkness. The once beautiful buildings that covered the land could not even be traced in this part of the Shadow Realm.

"What I have to say my pharaoh is short but very important. First I must ask that you look after Yugi and Tea as best as you can. The future of the world depends on them. The other thing I must tell you is that you are here to guide and protect Yugi. The two of you must work together. He is destined to save this world but he cannot do it without you. He will also help to return you and I to the place where we belong. You must be patient my pharaoh. You must always have faith in yourself, Yugi, and your friends. That is all I can tell you for now. I must be on my way,"

"But wait! There is so much I need to ask you,"

"It is too bad your full memory will not be back for some time. I know you have many questions. I do know the answer to some but the rest is lost in my memories as well. I do know this much my king; the laws of the ancients of the Shadow Realm set forward many rules that must be obeyed. One of these such rules states that, in the unlikely event that a spell such as that you cast those centuries ago, when you lose your memories and reawaken, you must discover those lost and forbidden memories for yourself. I promise you, everything will make more sense in the future. You have to be diligent. It will take time but when you do get your memories back, it will be a most joyous occasion. For now, we must get our rest. Our powers are still nowhere what they use to be so we may be vulnerable,"

"Okay then. One last thing, how can I reach you? What if I need to talk to you again?"  
"Do not worry my pharaoh. I shall come to you again when the time is necessary. Goodbye now Yami. I will always be near to you,"

With that Rini left. Yami also left and returned to the Earth and his position as a spectator within the mind of young Yugi.

As Rini continued along the road, she went through the park and stopped by a tree. From behind the tree appeared Tea.

"So Rini, did everything go okay?"

"Oh yeah; everything went fine. It's too bad however, that so many of his memories are still gone. I don't expect that he will regain his full memory for some time yet. Unfortunately that is how the rules of Dismissal work,"

"We better go. My parents will get suspicious if we're not home soon. Besides that, Yugi might want to call to talk some more,"

"You're right. Besides, without my full powers, it is a real job trying to maintain a solid form,"

Rini began to vanish like a layer of fog. In a matter of seconds she was completely gone. Tea walked a few feet to the pond and looked at the surface of the water. She saw Rini and Anzu standing next to her. Tea then turned and walked away to her house.


	9. Chapter 8 - A Long Past,

**CHAPTER 8: A Long Past, An Uncertain Future**

Some hours later, Tea was in her bedroom. She was lying at the end of her bed in front of a mirror. In her hands was a spiral shaped pendant. In the center of the pendant was a strange, glistening, blue diamond. The diamond had a unique quality to it aside from being blue. In the center of the diamond was a blue flame. It swirled and shot around. Although its movements seemed violent, it produced an odd calming feeling.

Tea sat up. In her mirror, instead of Anzu and Rini, she saw Anastasia standing there. It was a shocking sight. Anastasia and Tea looked so similar to each other that it was like looking into a regular reflection of herself. They could not be told apart if it were not for the fact that they had on different clothes.

"I just remembered something, Anastasia. You were going to tell me about your past and Yami's past. What happened to you all that you were tossed into our time this way?"

"I can surely tell it if you are up to hearing a long story. It is important however as you will have to hear it sooner or later. I mean, it is part of your history and Yugi's history anyway,"

"What do you mean it is part of our history as well?"

"You are actually a descendant of mine. And Yugi is a descendant of Yami,"

"No way! I can't believe that were related! This is major weird,"

"You, Tea, are to be Queen of the Shadow Realm and Yugi is to be the pharaoh, King of the Shadow Realm,"

"Us king and queen? You must be joking. There is no way that Yugi and I could really be a king and queen," Tea denied almost immediately.

"I assure you that you two will one day rule the dimensions. Now, how do I tell this tale? I guess right from the beginning. Well, here goes…

"Long ago in the distant past, great and powerful sorcerers played games of dark and powerful magic. These games were meant to decide who would lead the world. The method of battle was summoning monsters from other dimensions to battle each other. They called it the Shadow Duel. It is nearly the same today as it was those many millennia ago. The only difference would be that these monsters were real and far more dangerous than cards.

"The sorcerers always sensed that the monsters they controlled would become too powerful. To try and put a stop to this they imprisoned monsters in stone tablets. This maneuver would prove however to only be a temporary fix to things. The monsters powers continued to grow and it soon erupted into an all out war that threatened to destroy the world.

"The sorcerers called upon stronger and stronger monsters in an attempt to stop the ones already on Earth. Needless to say, that was a very bad idea. The new monsters turned on the sorcerers and nearly killed them all. Seeing that the monsters could not be easily stopped, the sorcerers planned a ritual to wipe out all existing life on the planet. This meant that all the innocent people who knew nothing of this horrible disaster or this violent plan would be killed along with the monsters that had been brought to this world without a purpose other than to destroy.

"A brave a powerful person came forward and declared that the sorcerers must put an end to their plans. He declared that they were about to commit a high crime against millions of innocent people and wrongfully sentence them to death for nothing that was their fault to begin with. He continued that he had sat by and watched the sorcerers cast the Earth into a period of darkness all for greedy and selfish ambition and could no longer watch them torture the Earth. The brave young man set forth a challenge to the sorcerers in the form of a Shadow Duel. He said that if he won he would have them relinquish their claim of dominion over the Earth and all dimensions attached to it in addition to their surrendering all their powers for good.

"Being as confident in their power as they were, they were sure that an upstart little brat could not stop them from continuing their definite rule. The battle began with the challenger seeming as though he really was nowhere near a match for the sorcerers. He summoned some of the lowest level monsters ever seen and watched as the far superior monsters the sorcerers held easily crushed them. Although they had loss control on many monsters, there were still some very powerful monsters that they still had complete control over.

"The young man who challenged them seemed oblivious to the constant onslaught of high power monsters against him. He maintained a pleasant smile on his face as he stood with his arms crossed and eyes closed as monster after monster of his were erased. He was at the edge of defeat when he began to talk to the sorcerers. 'I hope you have enjoyed your stay in this world up until now. I will now put a final end to this chapter of your lives.' Having dominated the entire duel, the sorcerers laughed at this comment. The boy proceeded to raise his right hand into the air. It seemed that the boy had lost his mind.

"At that point, a massive bolt of lightning came out of nowhere and came straight down onto the hand of the boy. In his hand appeared a staff. He lowered the staff and gently tapped the ground. It seemed that a wave swept over everything and engulfed it in darkness. To be precise, they had all been transported to another world; the Shadow Realm.

"'You are in my home now. This could be your home for all time if you wish. None of you are allowed to return to Earth again. The grave misdeeds you all perpetrated on Earth mandates that you no longer deserve the right of calling the planet you sought to destroy, home. Do not get me wrong. You can return home if you like after this duel, provided you can beat me, but your new home will be here,' was what he said. The duel continued and true to his word, the young master defeated the dark sorcerers in one turn. He summoned an incredible monster that obliterated them from the duel. The monster was easily ten times more powerful than the strongest monster that was running loose on Earth. The ease with which he controlled this monster was a wonder in of itself. Unlike all the monsters that even came remotely close to this monster's power had all turned on the one who summoned them the moment they were summoned. This was not the case however. After attacking, the monster circled back around to the side of the young master. It was completely obedient to him. It was as though to the young man, the monster was no more than a pet puppy or kitten, whereas to the dark sorcerers it was a wicked creature of the darkest design.

"But the trouble did not end there. Despite having bared witness to the awesome power of the young man first hand, the sorcerers refused to accept this as the end. They defiantly proclaimed that they would return to Earth without his approval. Sensing that this could be a long struggle, the young man made them another offer. He offered them a position as his advisors with only a fraction of their power. Being as power hungry as they were, they immediately turned down this offer. It was even worse that a little brat had the audacity to try and push them around.

"The young man was finally tired of all this. He raised his left hand out before himself in front of the evil sorcerers. This maneuver shocked them. It seemed familiar to them all but they did not know where it was they knew it from. The young man muttered a few words to them. These words sent chills up their spines as they froze in terror. The boy then said in an authoritative voice, 'Mind Crush'. This attack scattered their minds all over the Shadow Realm. Those poor foolish men were never heard from again,"

"Whoa, whoever that guy is, he sure sounds incredibly strong. But what did he mutter to them, and for that matter, what's his name?"

"It is strange. Though he was so powerful, he was never known to stop telling jokes. He loved to find the irony in things and make people laugh. But when in battle, he was a serious as anyone could have ever imagined. His exact words at that end were, 'you never even bothered to ask me what my name is. My name is Yamiyugi.' Those were the final words they heard,"

"Yamiyugi? I had no idea anything like that ever happened,"

"Yes. Yamiyugi was the father of Yami. He was responsible for locking away the dark magic that bought this world near its end. He had to round up all the monsters that ran loose and hide them away in another dimension. The majority of them were sent to the Shadow Realm to live in peace. There were a few however, that were far too strong to remain there. Yamiyugi created another place for them. It was an extension of the Shadow Realm and only him and select others knew the location. A gate protects these monsters and prevents evil people from ever summoning them. The doorway is known as the Gates of Chaos. It was named so because if anyone ever found a way to reopen the gates and let free the monsters behind it into Earth, the planet would have to face an unbelievable terror worse than that which it saw before. For this reason, Yamiyugi made it so that only the pharaoh could gain entrance to this region of the Shadow Realm.

"To help prevent anyone from searching for the Shadow Realm, he set up many kingdoms across Earth's landscape including the home of Yami and myself, the Sancrien Kingdom. He also erased the memories of all the people on Earth. It was a fairly simple task since there were not that many people on Earth anyway. Many mythical monsters that you know of today like the Yeti, Loch Ness monster, and Unicorns came about as the result of residual memories in some people from that tumultuous time.

"With order restored, the world was in a time of peace. It was not to last very long however. A vile and wicked man was already plotting to put an end to the happiness. A man named Kiram was the leader of the sorcerers Yamiyugi had defeated. He had been away that day so he did not face the same fate his minions did. After learning of their defeat, he disappeared for a long time. He left to increase his powers to try and overthrow Yamiyugi and take his powers.

"Word began to spread that a man with powerful magic was around on Earth. Yamiyugi was able to capture and imprison him in a tall tower in the depths of the Shadow Realm. Kiram remained there for two years before he escaped that dreadful day. With his powerful dark magic, he was able to make his way to the castle before Yamiyugi even knew he escaped. He came upon Yamiyugi and nearly killed him. They say he was able to significantly drain Kiram of his powers but still lost him. Yami and I were both still very young at the time.

"It was so many years ago but I can still remember Yami promising that he would never let those powers take over the world. Years later, Kiram reappeared. His desire to rule was stronger than ever and so were his powers. Kiram did know that Yami would not be an easy target and a direct attack would likely mean his death but he could not allow Yami to live or else he would never get all the power he desired.

"Kiram returned to the castle once again and was seeking to kill the pharaoh again. He was going after the Shadow Pyramid. It is the item of the pharaoh, the container for the greatest power in the universe. It held the secrets of the location of several other items that contained even more magic, the same magic that was locked away. Kiram would be able to open the Gates of Chaos and plunge the world into darkness. It would be far worse this time around because he would actually be able to control the monsters and there is no telling what he planned to have those powerful creatures do.

"Kiram seemed to have won for a while. When Yami and I discovered that Kiram was in the palace, he had already made it to the pyramid. He had begun the ritual to drain Yami of his powers. There was only one way to stop him. It was highly dangerous however. Yami used the only spell that could stop the ritual. The spell split he pyramid into dozens of pieces and sealed them in a magical gold box. The pharaoh's spirit would then be sealed away into the pieces of the pyramid until the day that a worthy descendant could reunite all the pieces reawakening the sleeping king. Evil forces could not touch the box and therefore be unable to obtain the power, but the pharaoh would be lost until the day a descendant awoken him. In addition, the pharaoh would lose all his memories and need to regain his memories all on his own. To help him on this difficult journey, someone close to him must travel along with him. I was that person. We must inhabit the body of a descendant to make sure that the magic stays locked away and I must watch over Yami to make sure no harm comes his way,"

"You all've gone through so much. I can't believe someone would want to do something like that. You two don't have to worry. You don't have to do this alone anymore. I know that when Yugi does find out, he will want to do everything that he can to help and I will be there for you as well. It always helps to have friends who will stick it out with you. Together, I know that we can beat Kiram and protect this world,"

"Thank you, Tea. That really does mean a lot to me. I know that you will always do your best,"

The two ladies finished their conversation and departed off to sleep. Tea still held the pendant in her hand with the flame inside still burning but calmly twisting and twirling. It gave a warm glow and remained in her hands throughout the night.


	10. Chapter 9 - Memory Surge

**CHAPTER 9: Memory Surge**

Over a month passed without much change. Yami, Anzu, and Rini were slowly regaining their memories; only one or two every couple of days, sometimes up to a week. Meanwhile, Tea and Yugi continued on as though there was never a change to begin with.

This morning was a dreary one, or a pleasant one depending on your point of view. Although it was nearly nine o'clock in the morning, the sky was as dark as night. Thick heavy clouds covered the sky with a definitive intimidation. Their appearance seemed to signal heavy rains, but thus far nothing more than a light, misty drizzle fell earlier that day.

A day like this would depress most people. But Tea and Yugi, as you now know, are not like most people. Days like these seemed to energize them. They seemed to be strengthened by days like these. As per usual, Yugi and Tea met on their way to school.

"C'mon Yugi! If we don't hurry, we'll be late. I'll never forgive you if you make me late, Yugi!"

"All right, I'm coming!"

The two ran towards the school. They made it just before the bell. Inside they saw Joey walking towards them.

"That was a close one. We have got to learn not to cut it so close," Tea panted, trying to catch her breath after running.

"Yeah, especially on such a great day; days like these should be enjoyed. Oh, hey Joey,"

"What's up Yugi? What happened yesterday? We were gonna have us a duel,"

"It's a long story. Tea can help me explain it later. I'll make it up to you with a duel right now,"

"Ugh, no thanks, I'm not in the mood. I just got totally creamed by that guy over there. He's awesome. He didn't even break a sweat. I heard he just transferred from another school in Rune City. He might even put up a challenge against you, Yugi,"

The gang turned their attention to the small crowd watching a duel around a table. Yugi could just make out a tall boy. He had blonde hair that seemed a little messy and unkempt. He was in the middle of a duel, or nearly the end in reality, although his demeanor could tell you otherwise. He obviously did not take his opponent very seriously as he did not even pay attention to his moves. He sat there with his arms crossed and his eyes closed smiling pleasantly. Yugi had an uneasy sense about this person.

"So, Tea, what do you think? Should I challenge this mysterious duelist?"

"I think you should go for it. There is no one who can beat you,"

The boy must have heard this because his smile widened. In ten seconds his current duel was over. He glanced at Yugi, rose from his seat, and walked towards Tea.

"Ah, I don't believe we have had the pleasure of meeting. My name is Noa Itchijouji. And what might the name of a beautiful rose as yourself be?"

"My name is Tea," she replied with a slight sign of disgruntlement.

"A rose, of course, has its thorns. And this boy must be Yugi. I have heard much about you. You do dabble in the game of Shadow Duel, don't you? Why not entertain me with a duel right now? I'm sure a player of your caliber should be able to last at least five minutes against me,"

"Yugi, be careful. This guy took down a lot of good duelists as though they were nothing more than little children opening their first pack of Shadow Duel cards,"

"Don't worry Joey, Yugi's not one to underestimate an opponent. He'll win. Go Yugi, take 'im down,"

"I guess, Tea, that this means you don't want to go on a date then?"

"You pig! I don't even know you and you're already asking me out on a date? What's your deal?"

"The Itchijouji family is one of richest and the most powerful families in the world. I can basically take whatever it is I want. I was just having a little fun with you. I do hope that you don't take my joke too seriously. I mean, why would I settle for someone like you when I could find someone much better? Besides, Yugi has something of much greater interest to me than some silly date,"

"What is it you want Noa?"

"To put it simply, I want a challenging duel against you. Your friend Joey hardly put up a fight. Quite frankly, no one seems to be able to match my skills. It can get really boring. But you're different. There have been only a handful of duelists who have been able to last more than five minutes against me. One of those people was my cousin Seto. Recognize the name? You should. I heard that he was defeated by a nobody and found it hard to believe. Then I discovered that the duelist responsible attended the school I was transferring to. Forgive me but I find it difficult to believe that someone like you can defeat someone like Seto without cheating. I want to see your skills for myself,"

At that point Yugi began to transform again as his alter ego Yami took over. There was no wind or light this time. Tea seemed to be able to sense this as she gained a brighter smile when it happened.

"Alright Noa, I accept your challenge, but know this, if you think I cheat to win my duels, then I've already won,"

"Glad to hear it. But there is one more thing. I have no real intention of dueling you,"

As he talked, the room disappeared and was replaced by darkness, the Shadow Realm. He snapped his fingers and everyone fell to the ground. Noa gave a laugh and walked over to Yugi.

"As I said, I don't have any intention of dueling you. All I want is your pyramid and the power sealed within it,"

The pyramid began to glow and Yami rose from the ground.

"So, you want Yugi's pyramid? I'm sorry, but you can't have it. The pyramid belongs with Yugi and I will make sure that it remains with him,"

"Ah, I sense that you are an ancient spirit. Well, I have no choice now but to challenge you to a duel here in the Shadow Realm,"

"We can duel, only after you return everyone else here back to their world,"

"A fairly reasonable request… Okay, I feel a little generous today. I'll return everyone, everyone, that is, except for your little friends. We will also be dueling for the fate of your friend's souls. I find that opponents duel better when they have something additional to fight for,"

"Noa, I'm warning you, do not trifle with me. Return Yugi's friends, now!"

"I don't think you are in any position to be telling me what to do. I hold the fate of your friends and the little boy's soul in my hand. You could say their fate is in the cards,"

"What are you talking about Noa? Where are they?"

"You're holding them in your hands right now. I have imprisoned their souls in the card that most closely matches them. What cards are they? Only my Shadow Eye knows. One of the Shadow Items your miserable father locked the dark magic away in so very long ago. It can see further than just the physical world. It will be the key to your defeat,"

"My father? What do you know of my father?"

"All I need. It is his fault that my family has not ruled this world for all eternity,"

In a sudden burst, memories began rushing into Yami's mind. As if a portal to the past had been blown open, Yami could see the world he grew up in as though he was living it all over again with the fast forward button pressed down.

The out of control memory train began to slow down and Yami could now see an event from his past unfold. He was inside a large and lovely palace. He was playing with a woman and a small dragon. The dragon he had recognized almost immediately as one of his favorite duel cards; the Red Serpent Night Dragon. But it looked a little different.

Coming towards them was a man. He kissed the woman and then lifted Yami into the air and spun him around. The man put him down and said something to him.

"Yami, it's time for you to return to Sancrien. Don't worry; you can come back whenever you want to. You know the way. Your mother and I have to go away for a while and we can't leave you here by yourself. We want you to remember something, son. Your duty as prince and one day as pharaoh is to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Never let evil get their hands on the dark magic. I know that you will always do your best. Your mother and I love you very much. We will always be with you, even if you can't always see us,"

The vision ended there. Yami closed his eyes and then reopened them with a fierce look centered on Noa.

"Know this, Noa. I have no intention of allowing you to continue disrespecting my family or friends. My father was a brave and courageous man; a better person than you. Let us begin this duel so that I may silence you,"

"Fine, we shall duel the 'real' way, the way it was done long ago; no tributes and no effects for non-rituals. We start with 8000 Life Points. For my first move I play a card face down and throw Princess of Tsurugi in defense mode. Your move,"

"I too play a card face down, and I play the Feral Imp in attack mode and destroy your Princess of Tsurugi,"

"Nice move. I counter with 7 Colored Fish. Its 1800 attack points are more than enough to destroy your imp and deduct 500 of your life points,"

"I can't destroy your monster yet so I will just place this monster in defense mode,"

"Is that all you've got? I play Jirai Gumo in attack mode and destroy your face down monster. I then directly attack your life points. That brings you down to 5700. I know there was no way you could have really defeated my cousin," Noa scoffed.

"Are you done gloating? This duel is far from being over. I play Swords of Revealing Light. You have three turns before you can attack again. As for your fish, I play Curse of Dragon and destroy it,"

"Normally a play like that would immobilize an opponent, but as I said to you before, I'm not an ordinary duelist. I play Magical Neutralizing Force. Your swords are destroyed freeing my monster to attack. I destroy your Curse of Dragon, and you lose 200 life points. I then attack with the Komouri Dragon. You're down to only 4000 life points,"

"My turn. I summon the Dark Magician in attack mode,"

When Yami did this he was shocked to find that it was really Yugi dressed as the Dark Magician.

"Well, well, well. It seems that you have drawn the fabled Dark Magician. It also appears that the little boy you are supposed to be protecting is in your Dark Magician. I must admit that I am intrigued that he was placed as your magician. It was supposedly a card created in the image of the pharaoh. It is odd that your vessel was sent to that particular card,"

"Huh? What's going on? What am I doing in these clothes? Whoa, it's Noa! And, is that me?"

"Yugi, stay calm. Noa sealed your soul along with the souls of Tea and Joey into duel cards. I must defeat Noa in order to release you all back into your bodies. I do not know where Tea and Joey are in this deck but you are the Dark Magician. I'm going to need your help to defeat him,"

"But who are you? You can't be me… or are you?"

"Don't you know? Think for a little while,"

"Well, I noticed for a while that sometimes when I duel, there is a spirit guiding me through the tough challenges. Other times, that spirit inside me, it takes over,"

"If you two are done bonding, I would like to continue this duel so that I may claim your pyramid and toss away your souls,"

"Not if I can help it. Yugi attack his Jirai Gumo,"

"You got it. Dark Magic Attack!"

"And that's not all. I also play two Tremendous Fires. That brings your life points down to 5500,"

"Nice, very nice. Okay, I'll play a monster face down in defense mode. I also place two cards face down as well. Your move again,"

"I will also play two magic cards and I summon the Flame Swordsman in attack mode,"

"What the...? Oh, hey Yugi. Why are you dressed like that? Ahhhhhh! Noa!? I'm getting out of here," Joey blathered, turning around to run away. "Ahhhhh! Yugi!? Now I know I'm losing my mind. I'm like, dressed like a freak and my best friend cloned himself or something,"

"Joey, this is no dream and you're not crazy. Noa has used some sort of dark magic to trap our souls inside Shadow Duel cards,"

"But if you're here Yug, then who is the guy over there?"

"You don't have to worry about him. I think he is here to help,"

"Alright then, I'm ready to cut that arrogant soul stealing Noa down to size," Joey declared, sounding full of confidence.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah! I mean I'm sure that I've gone completely nuts, but hey, I'm game,"

"Noa, I have my Flame Swordsman attack you face down monster,"

"Not so fast Yami, I activate Mirror Force."

"I send it back with a Light Force Wall. It reflects all attacks including redirected ones,"

"I thought you would, anything to force you to waste a trap. You see, my monster was the Morphing Jar. We must both send our hands to the graveyard. You should hope that Tea was not one of the cards that I just destroyed,"

"What does he mean Yugi?"

"It's like I told you, Joey; Tea's soul has also been trapped within a card but we have no idea which card she's in. She could be anywhere in the deck,"

"You will pay dearly Noa if that is the case,"

"You are in no position to make any sort of threats to me. I lead by 1500 points and I still have a few surprises for you. As for now, I play a monster in defense mode,"

"Your plans will fail you. I play Infinite Cards. This magic card allows me to exceed the seven-card limit for my hand. I also play two Pot of Greed, drawing four new cards. There is more. I activate the field magic card Yami. Finally, I summon the Dark Magician Girl in attack mode. She gains two hundred attack and defense points for each magic or trap card in either player's graveyard. That is a boost of 1600 points,"

A burst of light grew rapidly and from within appeared Tea in mage's clothing.

"Oh, hey guys. Uhhh, are you guys playing dress up? Huhh? Why am I holding this staff?"

"Tea? Oh man, this is bad," Joey started to panic.

"Yugi, what is Joey babbling about, what's going on here?"

"Well, first you have to remain calm," Yugi started to explain. "Now, Noa has evil dark magic and has turned us into Shadow Duel monsters. In order to return us to our bodies I have to win this duel,"

"How can you duel if you're over here with us?"

"Well, he's there dueling in my place," Yugi pointed over at Yami. Tea barely registered a reaction.

"Yami, it seems you have lined up all of your friends for me to take out. And take them out I shall,"

"In order to do that, you have to beat me, and I have already made sure that will not happen. I plan on summoning one of the strongest creatures known to this game. I plan to release a Saint Beast,"

"You're bluffing! There is no way a hack like you is capable of a summoning like that. At any rate, you will need the right monsters on the field to complete the summoning in addition to a monster to tribute. The chances of that are slim,"

"Yugi, mind explaining what the heck is going on?" Joey asked.

"Yeah Yugi, what's this Saint Beast thing the big you is talking about?" Tea asked.

"There are a series of three all powerful monsters. I'm not sure, but they are supposed to be unstoppable. Although they are unbelievably powerful, they are difficult to summon. They are considered to be a special type of ritual. First you need one or two specific monsters on the field. Then you must draw the Saint Beast. Added to that, you need another monster on the field to tribute and complete the summoning. It is more difficult to obtain than Exodia and sometimes more deadly. The Saint Beasts are the only cards in the game capable of negating the effect of the Exodia cards,"

"Whoa! Yug., I had no idea you had such a butt kicking monster in your deck!" Joey marveled.

"Neither did I," Yugi chuckled in return.

"What do you mean Yugi? How can you not know about a card in your own deck?"

"Well, lately, when I go to look at my deck I come across cards even my grandfather never knew about. It's strange and I haven't been able to find out where they came from,"

"I already have all but one of the cards I need Noa and then I shall banish you,"

"I don't think you have thought this whole thing through, pharaoh. Your friends are the only monsters you have on the field so even if you drew the Saint Beast, one of your friends' souls will be lost forever,"

"Your partially correct Noa, but once again, you are a ways off. I have thought this all the way through and all I need to do is rely on the faith of my friends and the belief that by putting a little of my heart and soul in my deck, it will repay me by protecting me and the one's I care about,"

"Your pointless and ridiculous belief in a 'heart of the cards' is highly amusing. This game is all about power and I will show you that today,"

"And I shall show you that it is not, now make your move, my patience with you is growing very thin,"

"I play a card face down for later and a monster in defense mode. It is your turn pharaoh,"

"It is not the card I was waiting for but it will serve me very well. I activate Swords of Revealing Light. You are now spellbound for three turns and all your cards are revealed. Now my friends are safe from your attacks until I can summon my monster,"

"Poor King Yami. He's afraid to attack me. Instead he hides behind weak magic cards. If you're going to lose, you should face your defeat rather than making false claims and cowering behind weak defenses,"

"Say what you will, Noa. I will do whatever it takes to protect my friends. You will see whether my claims are false or not soon enough. Now I draw, and I place this card face down. It's your turn again,"

"Since I cannot attack for two more turns, I will just have to eliminate your friends another way. I activate the magic card Thunder Strike. This is personally one of my favorite magic cards. It summons dozens of lightning bolts on my opponent destroying all the cards they have on the field regardless of position or type. Say goodbye to your friends, Yami,"

"I don't think so. Your move activates my trap. It's called Lightning Rod. It draws your Thunder Strike away from my cards leaving them unharmed,"

"You are growing very irritating! I end my turn,"

"Fine, I draw. I am one step closer to victory. I will end my turn without playing a card,"

"I knew you couldn't do it. My monster is free to attack next turn. It's all over. I pass this turn,"

"Yugi. Tea,"

"Yeah Joey?"

"I just want you two to know that it's been real great knowing you,"

"Don't talk like that Joey. We have to trust that my doppelganger will win this duel and set us free,"

"Noa! It's over. I now have all that I need,"

"So? Which of your friends do you plan to sacrifice for the sake of the others?"

"Sorry, Noa, but you won't get what you want. I activate Brain Control taking your monster. I then tribute it to unleash my ultimate monster's power. The two monsters I need to summon it will arise. They will duplicate their energies in order to transfer them to my new monster. I urge you to watch closely because I guarantee you that it will be a seldom event to see this summoning,"

Noa stood back in amazement as the ritual took place. The two monsters that rose into the air were the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl. As if they were in a trance, Yugi and Tea began to recite a strange incantation. They couldn't even hear Joey screaming up at them, or if they did were unable to respond.

Behind them an immense energy ball was forming and beginning to take form. The sky over the battlefield darkened over as a thunderstorm brewed. The clouds were a dark gray, almost black. With the exception of the large mass of energy, the sky over the duel field resembled with near pinpoint accuracy the sky over Crystal Point City that morning. The energy ball shot up into the clouds. From those clouds, a serpent like chain of energy slithered out, crisscrossing through them.

"It's over now Noa. It is complete. I summon the Saint Beast of Osiris, Slifer the Shadow Dragon," Noa stared at the monster and then began to laugh loudly.

"You must take me for a fool. I heard all the legends about this monster and used to fear it. But that beast that is in front of you right now has absolutely no attack or defense whatsoever. It's no threat,"

"You shouldn't talk of things you do not know of; it only makes you sound foolish. It is clear to me now that your knowledge of the ancient past is limited. In fact, it would also seem that Tea and Yugi have more knowledge than you do, granted they do not yet realize it. Allow me to enlighten you on this particular Saint Beast.

"Slifer the Shadow Dragon is the most powerful and difficult of the Saint Beasts to be summoned. To summon and control it you must have both a Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl in play on the field. They must remain there on the field for three turns before the dragon can be summoned.

"Slifer comes from the depths of the world behind the Gates of Chaos. The only ones capable of summoning this beast were the queen and myself. The magician cards were created in our images and represent our power. This is where Slifer gets its power.

"This Saint Beast has three effects. First is that its attack and defense comes by combining the attacks and defenses respectively of the mages at the time of the summoning. Its second effect is that the attack and defense are increased an additional six hundred points for every card used in the duel to that point. That includes cards in play, in the graveyard, and in the players' hands. The final effect protects it and all my monsters from any and all magic or trap cards played by my opponent. These three effects make it virtually indestructible. There are only two ways for my dragon to be defeated. Option one is to stop it from being summoned in the first place and option two is to summon a monster with a greater attack power, but with an attack of 38400, I doubt that you will be able to.

"I hope you have learned your lesson, Noa. It is one thing to try and threaten me but it is another to threaten my friends. I will not stand for such intolerable behavior. The pyramid belongs to Yugi now. He is the one who is destined to wield the power of the Shadow Pyramid and the great power of the pharaoh. I will do all that I can to ensure that it remains in his possession. As long as I am alive, Yugi and his friends will be under my protection,"

"No, this cannot be! How could I possibly lose? No, no, no! I have to be dreaming, that's it! I'm dreaming! I just have to be dreaming! There is no duelist in the world with the skills to defeat me like this!"

"Whether you choose to believe me or not does not matter. One day you will hopefully realize just what it was you tried to do today. You have no monsters on the field so I am free to directly attack your life points. This duel, Noa, is over,"

"Arrrrrghhhhhhhhh! Y...Y...Y... Yami! I...I will... accept defeat ... today. Your friends are safe for now. But know this my young pharaoh. I will return one day to defeat you,"

The duel on the day of the storm ended in that fashion. Noa disappeared in a whirl of gray smoke. The darkness of the Shadow Realm disappeared from around the battlefield. The duel arena vanished as well. Yami was once again in the inner chambers of the Shadow Pyramid. Looking out he could see that the others were beginning to awaken.

Yugi was rising to his feet. The gang was in a small room, definitely not the room they started in. It was quiet and no one else seemed to be around.

"Whoa! What on earth happened to me? One minute my best bud is about to challenge and brutally kick Noa's butt, next minute I'm dressed like a duel monster with my two best friends one of which has a double who is dueling Noa. Tea, Yug., you guys alright?"

"What a ride. I think I need a nap. A girl does need her beauty sleep after all,"

"Hey, guys, weren't we supposed to be in school? How is it that we've ended up in this room? And listen, do you hear anything?" Yugi questioned.

"No, not at all," Joey answered bluntly.

"Isn't that strange considering its nine o'clock in the morning?" Yugi pointed out.

"Yeah, you're right Yug. There should be some sort of noise around here,"

"Yugi, Joey, we should get out of here and figure out what's going on,"

Yugi, Tea, and Joey walked out of the room and into the hallway. The area was very dark. None of the lights in the classrooms were on and coupled with the darkness outside, it made for an eerie scene.

"Yugi, Tea, look over here,"

"What is it Joey?"

"In this room. There's some strange writing on the chalkboard,"

Yugi and Tea stepped into the room. Tea became instantly mesmerized by the strange writing. As Yugi drew closer, he too fell into the grip of the hypnotic words, if they really were words.

As though under the control of another person Joey slowly walked out the room. He left Yugi and Tea staring steadfast at the board. Joey proceeded down the hallway. He turned a corner and entered another empty classroom.

"Good Joey. I knew it would be helpful to control your mind. Now to clear your mind of what's happened here today. With the Shadow Items all gathering in a single place, normal beings cannot be allowed to witness such an event without special privileges granted by the keeper of the pyramid. Since he and his second in command cannot make that decision, I will. You will remember nothing that happened here today. You never dueled against Noa and the one you call Yugi did not either. You never came to this building today. It was closed for an undisclosed purpose. Now, go on home,"

"Nice job, Sisi. Now what about the young vessels," a girl asked. She had long black hair down to the center of her back and brown eyes. She was wearing the school's uniform.

"Since they are the true descendants, it should not be long before they discover the meaning of that writing we put on the board. They shall come to us soon enough," replied the other woman. She was maybe a couple years older than the girl. She was dressed in business casual clothes, which given the setting seemed to imply she was a teacher. She also had black hair of relatively the same length, but she had blue eyes, and in general had a more serious demeanor than the first girl.

"Ah, you've come back, Kenshin. That didn't take long. You seem to have great confidence that these two are who we think they are," the girl in the uniform said.

"Indeed I do," Kenshin stated as he entered the room. He was in casual clothes, but seemed to look less like a teacher than Sisi. "I knew them both very well all those years ago. I knew that the young boy and girl were truly who we expected and their performance in that duel Noa put them through, all of this assures me that Yugi and Tea are the true descendants of Yami and the queens Anzu and Rini,"

"By 'their performance', I assume you mean their being placed in the Dark Magician and the Dark Magician Girl," Sisi asked.

"That is part of it, but what I think he is referring to was their summoning of Slifer," Noa joined in.

"Noa, good of you to join us. Care to go further in depth as to what Kenshin and you mean?"

"Sure, anything for you May. Okay, in the form it takes now, to summon Slifer all that is needed is the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl along with a monster to sacrifice. However, I was dueling our king the way we are supposed to, the way it was done thousands of years ago. Such a summoning requires one more element. To complete the ritual, the two dark mages must know the proper spell. All those years ago, this meant the two mages would have to be taught the incantation and the only ones who knew it were our king and queen. Yami would not have been able to do this considering he had no idea I was planning to duel him or that his vessel would be made to inhabit a Shadow Duel card, much less the Dark Magician. This means that they had to already know it themselves. Only the descendant of the pharaoh and his queen could be born with such knowledge,"

"I see. Well you've got me convinced. How about you Sisi?"

"I guess I have to agree with you all. I just hope Yami doesn't get too mad with you Noa,"

"Come on Sisi. I'm sure Yami will understand. We had to do it. We can't let Hiei and Kiram get too strong,"

"Well I still have one concern. If Tea is really the descendant of queen Rini and Anzu, then where were they when Noa put Tea's soul in the Dark Magician Girl?"

"Do you mean me?"

"Anastasia! Incredible! It's so great to see you. How have you held up?" May excitedly marveled.

"I've been great. Ten thousand years of beauty sleep is fantastic. By the way, the meeting should begin shortly. The president and chairman have arrived. Allow me to introduce, the Pharaoh Yami,"

"Hello everyone. It is great to see you all again. It has been so long since we have been able to talk,"

"Not since Sancrien's one hundredth birthday I believe. I'm so glad to see you again Yami!" Sisi exclaimed.

"As am I Sisi. I'm glad to see all of you. Yes, even you Noa. Your acting is as good as ever. We'll have to save any further celebration until after the meeting. Let's begin shall we?"

"Alright," Anastasia began. "As you all know, we have not met since Yami used the Spell of Time to stop Kiram from taking the Shadow Pyramid. In accordance, the true owners of the Shadow Items were placed in their item. Being the ones who initiated the spell, Yami and myself lost the majority of our memories. In addition, whereas you all were reborn when sufficient time passed, we had to wait until a proper descendant was born and was capable of harnessing the magic of the Shadow Items.

"There were nine Shadow Items. We who are gathered here are the true owners of seven of the Shadow Items. The other two are not here right now. Kiram seems to be after the power of the items, but it didn't seem as though he wanted it purely for himself, therefore we believe he likely was working with someone else.

"Hiei was always known as a loner and to be very powerful. It came as a shock when he was discovered to be working for Kiram. Kiram is undeniably powerful, exponentially more powerful than Hiei. If it is discovered that Kiram is working for someone as well, we could be looking at a monstrously huge and highly volatile power here if it can keep Kiram under lock and key of its control. However, we have nothing to concern ourselves with as yet since there is no conclusive proof that this entity exists. Sisi, could you please explain the Spell of Time?"

"Right. The Spell of Time had a delayed effect on the rest of us. It was not until a week, in Shadow Time of course, after Anastasia and Yami disappeared that we ourselves were sealed away in our items. Its effect was vastly different on our two enemies than was expected. They were discovered with their strength severely cut. They lay on the floor completely immobilized. Moving was impossible much less casting any spell. As the guards approached the two bodies a cloud of black smoke converged within the room. The smoke killed the guards instantly and the bodies vanished. As before, there was no trace of them. After doing a bit of research in this time I have come to the conclusion that some kind of catastrophic event took place soon after our leaving. It was as though nearly all of human existence came to a halt at that point in time. The earliest recorded civilization that they now have recorded emerged at about 3500 B.C.E. So that is all we know of so far. Any ideas as to what our next move should be Kenshin?"

"The first thing we need to do is update our guests of honor," Kenshin said as he opened the door. In the doorway stood Yugi and Tea.

"Tea, Yugi good of you to join us. I trust that you can recite the phrase that was on that board?"

"Sinin dinen carten canten. Hiten sliphen omer. Iso ro li ohi menha sohe," Tea spoke with a monotonous tone.

"What?"

"Just kidding Yami, we thought we would play a little joke," Tea admitted with a chuckle.

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny you two. You're more like Anastasia and me than is healthy for this world. Come on now let's be serious. Can you read the board?"

"Sure. We could even recite it for you if not for the message you had at the end. It said we are not to discuss the spell with anyone unless you say it is okay," Yugi stated.

"Amazing! To be able to grasp the use of such a complex language, and at such a young age; you should both be very proud of yourselves. Congratulations,"

"Thank you very much. That means a lot to us Ms. Jinsei," Tea graciously accepted, feeling a little bashful for the praise.

"I take it Anastasia has told you a little about us Tea?"

"Only a little,"

"Forgive our rudeness in not properly introducing ourselves. I am Kagome Margaret 'May' Jinsei. I am the head vizier of our great pharaoh Yami. Here you have Lord Kenshin, Kenshin Inasha. He is the ruler of Shien Mitsurugi, a kingdom once adjacent to Sancrien. He is one of the original Hito Battousai, master of the Hiten Mitsurugi style and owner of one of the most powerful swords ever created, the Tetsunsaiga. Over here is Sisi Ishio. She is the high priestess of Sancrien. She tends to be a little quiet at times. And you have already met Noa. He is the Shadow Realm's number one undercover agent.

"Well now that you know who we are, let's see how good the two of you really are. You should be able to spot the distinct energy patterns of Shadow Items under normal conditions. Your challenge is to tell which item we each posses. To make it even more difficult you'll have to do it while we're masking our item's signature. You can begin whenever you are ready,"

"Do you want to split the job Tea?"

"Sure Yugi. You can take Kenshin and May,"

"Alright, then I will begin. Kenshin's Shadow Item is his Hito Siko Tetsunsaiga, the most difficult of the items to detect. The owner must draw the sword before it gives off any sort of an energy signal. In addition, when not willed to transform by the owner, it appears to be nothing more than a rusted, dull, reverse blade sword.

"May's item is the staff in her hand; rather it is the stone in the staff. It is a stone from a ruby and a sapphire that fused together. Only a chosen person can touch it. If a wicked heart touches the stone, then they will both burn and freeze at the same time. It is a quite unpleasant way to die,"

"My turn. Noa's item is the most difficult to steal because of where it is. His item is the third eye in his forehead. With his third eye Noa can see great distances as well as into the mind of others.

"Sisi's item is hidden in the headband she always wears in her hair. She can transform it into anything at will,"

"Excellent! You two have done very well. You should be proud of your great skill; that you should. The future of this world is looking even brighter. Indeed it does,"

"Okay Yugi and Tea. It is time that you two learned the whole story of our past. You need to pay very close attention to what we are about to tell you; it all could have dire effects on the future,"

And so Yami began the long, arduous tale that was the history untold for well over millennia. He explained that they were part of a group called the Rosencraft and were responsible for guarding this planet. He explained how Hiei and Kiram came to be their greatest opponents. He told of the many battles that had been waged in order to keep the dangerous Shadow Magic from being wielded by the evil that threatened both the Earth and the Shadow Realm.

"That is only a brief description of our legacy. As you can see, the situation continues to get worse. If there is another force, then we have no idea as to how powerful it is. For now, we can be thankful that those two have not opened the Demon's Gate, the passage between the world of the demons and our world. Many great demons linger behind those doors and it would be some battle trying to defeat them all. Many disasters that plagued this planet throughout history were likely the result of those demons that managed to sneak through the gateway. The city that is of legend in your time, Atlantis, was actually a city called Zornartaria. It was attacked and nearly destroyed due to a demon of one of the lowest classes. The world's most catastrophic events were likely caused by a mischievous demon,"

"Don't worry Yami. Yugi and I will do our best to prevent Kiram, Hiei or whoever else it is, from destroying this planet," Tea assured.

"They have no idea of the power they are up against. We'll crush them," Noa supported.

"We better get going. I know that my grandpa will get suspicious if I'm not home soon,"

"You're right Yugi. My parents will flip if I'm not home on time,"

"That's fine, we all need to get back to our own identities before anyone notices that we were gone. I bid you all farewell, for now,"

"See you later Noa. Well, I too must be leaving. See you around,"

"Alright Sisi. Have a good evening. Are you coming Lord Kenshin?"

"I suppose that if the meeting is over I should be on my way. Be careful Tea and Yugi. You will likely face many more challenges in the future. Although there should be nothing to worry about with Anastasia and Yami with you, that there shouldn't,"

"But, wait!"

"Yes Ms. Tea?"

"How will we find each other if anything comes up?"

"Don't worry Ms. Tea. You will see us all again before you know it. Have a good evening. You know, there is a great moon out tonight. You should all enjoy it,"


	11. Chapter 10 - A Tournament Arrives

**CHAPTER 10: Set Sail for the Kingdom of Darkness; A Tournament Arrives**

The next day started similar to the one prior. It was still a while before this hopefully normal day of school began. As Tea was getting ready for school she was talking with Anastasia.

"Tea, Yami and I were thinking that it would be best if we went to class with you two. Kiram could turn up at anytime and an extra set of eyes would be good. What do you think?"

"That would be great if not for one slight problem,"

"What's that?"

"Well if Hiei or Kiram do come by and spot you, they probably won't hesitate to attack and that would be a bad thing with so many people around,"

"We thought so too and we have an answer to that. Care to see?"

"Sure, why not?"

As Tea continued to get ready, Anastasia began to glow. The light grew brighter and brighter until it burst apart and a new image sat on the edge of Tea's bed.

"Okay, I'm impressed! How exactly did you do that?"

"It is a simple spell. It's great for when you're in a hurry. I'll teach it to you sometime,"

The new figure was vastly different than Anastasia. Just as tall, she had a unique hairstyle. Most of her hair was brown sweeping backwards. She had three long bangs curving down over her forehead. The middle one was an emerald green and the others were a crimson red. She was wearing the school uniform.

"Nice look. Now what am I supposed to call you?"

"You can just call me Hinoki,"

"Hinoki huh! That's a nice name. All right Hinoki; let's get going then. We wouldn't want you to be late on your first day back at school,"

The two left and headed towards the usual spot to meet Yugi. As they approached they noticed someone standing next to Yugi. The person was tall. He had bright blonde hair that stuck straight up. Rather than being flat it was very jagged, like a ragged old broom. He wore a long red trench coat over the school uniform and had a pair of circular lens shades on. The shades, if nothing else, would have drawn curious glances, if not that the clouds had cleared very rapidly over the last half hour producing a sunny day. He didn't exactly look like a high school student, however. Anastasia, or rather Hinoki, recognized him quickly.

"Hey Vash!"

"Well hey there, Hinoki,"

"Who's Hinoki?"

"Yugi, that there is Anastasia's favorite transformation. I would like to introduce to you Hinoki,"

"Tea, this is Yami's favorite transformation, Vash,"

"It would seem you two do this very often," Yugi commented.

"Sometimes you just need to get out and it's not easy to do when everyone knows you as the ruler,"

"That's true, but we still have a slight problem,"

"What is it Yugi?"

"How exactly are we supposed to explain two new students who seemingly appeared out of nowhere?"

"Don't worry Yugi. Tea, how are your computer skills?" Vash questioned with a smirk.

"Decent I suppose. I'm the fastest typist in our school and I can basically use most common computer systems,"

"Alright then, let's get to school and register us for some classes," Vash enthusiastically declared. His personality was clearly quite different from Yami's.

The quartet continued on to the school. They arrived at about ten minutes before homeroom. They went straight to the office and stopped outside the door. Vash snapped his fingers and everything froze in place.

"Alright Tea, the computer is all yours. Have away at it,"

"Awesome! Why didn't I think of that? All right, here we go. Vash and Hinoki, age seventeen, eye color blue and red, hair color… Now, all our classes will be the same, and now were ready. Okay, we're all done here?"

"That was pretty good you four. Do you mind registering another student and a teacher Tea?"

"Noa, what are you doing here?"

"I am enrolled as a student here Yugi, and so too are Yami and Anastasia I see,"

"Who do you need me to register Noa,"

"We'll I'll be the student. My name will be Sakuda,"

"Is that Sisi? It's great to have you here. I take it your reasons for originally taking up this disguise is the same as Anastasia and Yami?" Tea marveled.

"No, not really. I just did it for fun,"

Sakuda was roughly the same height as Yugi. She had one very long ponytail that was split in two and tied with a ribbon. Her hair was a vibrant pink. She was wearing a plain pink dress with frill at the neck and at the bottom. Sakuda's eyes were large and shinning, deep blue in color. Her image, like Yugi's, made her appear younger than she really was in both this form and her true form.

"Okay, that's done. Now what about our newest teacher?"

"That would be me. You can call me Ms. Kaede,"

"Nice to meet you. I'm guessing that you're May?"

"Nice to see you too Yugi. I'll be teaching your science class,"

Kaede had a way of appearing to be more mature than the others despite really being one of the youngest. She had beautiful silky black hair. It was tied back with a single ribbon. Kaede wore a long black dress. Her face was gentle and her eyes were an emerald green.

"It looks like everyone is here except for Kenshin. I wonder where he is,"

"Don't worry about him Tea, he always comes just before he's needed. He's late but dependable. Besides, he already registered for a teaching spot. And wouldn't you believe that it is a class we will have all to ourselves?"

"What class would that be, Kaede?"

"The only class that no one was interested in. Luckily for us it has a student limit so even if anyone wanted they couldn't get into the class anymore now,"

"At any rate we should get going. We want to go about our days here with as little use of our powers as possible in order to avoid detection. We can't have Kiram and Hiei start a battle with all of these people around,"

"You're right Vash. Besides, I'm anxious to see how much history has caught up to Kiram's destruction," Noa said as they all walked out the door down the hall.

"What do you mean Noa?"

"During the time before Kiram's attack, the world was much like yours is today, Tea. People had great technology, even some space travel. After Yami and Anastasia disappeared however, even though Kiram was gone within a couple of days, he was able to destroy vast amounts of the technology maybe due to fear that it could possibly someday surpass him in power. The exact day Kiram was trapped in his stolen item has not become clear yet. We assume that it was a couple of days after the rest of us were but we can't be sure. Your world today has no records of the kind of technology we used ever having existed before now. That would mean Kiram was able to destroy each and every last shred of any sort of technology whatsoever,"

"Tell me more during our next class," Tea requested.

"What is our next class anyway?"

"Let's see... its study hall. We can communicate telepathically, that way no one else will be able to hear what we say,"

The group was now halfway to homeroom. The flow of time returned to normal. As they proceeded, Joey came running towards them with obvious urgency.

"Hey! Tea, Yugi, you gotta come see this! Who are your friends?"

"Never mind that right now Joey, what's the big emergency?"

"Yeah, it's on the TV in homeroom. Matter of fact it's probably on just about every television in school,"

"What's on TV Joey?"

"Come see!"

They rushed to the room to see a large crowd noisily gathered below the television mounted on the wall. There was a camera shot of a podium with dozens of microphones in front of it. All of a sudden a group of armed men walked onto the floor. There were eight of them and they were surrounding a young woman wearing what Yugi and the gang quickly noticed as the clothing of what would have been a very high and powerful priestess during Yami's previous days on the Earth. As the woman reached the podium everything fell dead still as though to take another breath, to make another movement, would mean certain death.

"Good morning. For those who don't know me, or have forgotten who I am, my name is Serenity Runa Dantes. In addition to being the top ranked duelist in the world, I am the inventor of Shadow Duel and owner/CEO of the company responsible for all products associated with Shadow Duel.

"Ladies and gentleman, I'm not here to flaunt my success. I am here to make two great announcements. First, I would like to tell you all that my new portable duel system has been released. It is a duel disc system that eliminates the need for an arena, allowing you to duel with full size, 3D images of the depictions on the cards played wherever you choose to duel.

"My second announcement is that I will be hosting an all-new tournament in just one week. Duelists from all over the world have been invited. Personal invitations have been delivered to those chosen to participate and will arrive this evening. All combatants will be using my new duel system. With satellite trackers, a computer network will be keeping tabs on every duel. Spectators will be able to see any duel at any given time by either watching the dozens of television stations that I will have constantly broadcasting the top rated duels or via streaming video on the internet at the Shadow Duel website.

"The site for this magnificent campaign will be my beloved hometown of Crystal Point. The finals will be held at Crystal Point Towers where I will be waiting. In addition to a prize of $2 million, the champion will be given the title of King or Queen of the Shadow Realm. As to be expected I will also be dueling in this campaign. I will abide by the same rules as all other duelists.

"Competitors will be wagering blue diamond coins. To reach the finals you must gain twelve coins. Each entry will be given a single coin. Be warned, if you do not have any blue diamond coins you will be eliminated. My satellite will be tracking you; so any action being taken that violates the rules will result in the proper actions according to those rules. The finals will be held once there are six finalists but no later than the sixth day after the tournament's beginning.

"Duelists, the time has come for you to prove your skills. Build your decks carefully. Remember to never underestimate your opponents. Get ready, because in exactly 170 hours 56 minutes and 30 seconds from the end of this press conference, my Shadow City tournament shall commence. I look forward to seeing everyone perform at their best, especially entry 2YV08," This comment sent a cold chill down Yugi's spine, as though the remark were directed at him though he didn't know why.

"I wonder if you got an invite, Yugi," Tea questioned. "I wonder who entry 2YV08 could be. How about you Joey? Joey? Hello, Earth to Joey,"

"Awwwwwwww mannn! I wish I could meet her,"

"Are you alright Joey? You know, you just might since she is holding the tournament in our town,"

"Aww noooo! I couldn't meet her even if I wanted to. My folks and I are going away for a week. Remember? We leave tomorrow afternoon. Even if I get an invite there is no way I'll be able to compete in the tournament much less try and make it to the finals. Yugi! You've gotta promise me something!"

"Okay, sure Joey. What is it?"

"You've gotta promise me you'll make it to the finals and get me an autographed picture of her!"

"Yugi? I think your friend Joey's snapped. You better promise him or he might go over the deep end," Noa teased.

"Alright Joey, calm down. I'll give you my word that if I get to the finals I will try to get you that picture,"

"Yug., you're the best friend a guy can ever have!'

Joey wailed in tears. It might have drawn attention if not for the fact that everyone in the school, as well as on television, was repeating the same question in a loud flurry; "Who is the mysterious entry 2YV08 and why is the Queen of Shadow Duel so anxious to meet him or her?"

For the remainder of homeroom Joey sat rocking in a chair gnawing away at a pencil. He was obviously trying to figure a way to meet Serenity Runa Dantes. Meanwhile, the bell rang continuing the remainder of the day. Yugi and company made their way to Study Hall.

"So, Vash, you and Hinoki seem to have been a little quiet. Is there something we should be worried about with Ms. Dantes?" Sakuda prodded.

"No, at least we don't think so, Sakuda," Hinoki replied in a quiet tone.

"Hey, Noa, why don't you finish your story?"

"Right, now let us see. Okay. Well, to do the extent of damage to progress that took place, there had to be more than just destroying all technology. He would have to destroy knowledge. If all the computers in the world were destroyed, there would still be people with the know-how to build a new one. Kiram, therefore, would also have to eliminate all people with the mind to build any remote form of technology, or at least make it so they could not remember how,"

"There had to be millions of people who could create technology. Is Kiram really capable of using such an immense power?" Tea asked.

"That is where the questions start. Like I said before, there was absolutely no trace of the advanced technology. This world today is remarkably similar to ours. Your world is nearly as advanced. Just ten more years and it is possible that you could be at the same level. By then you should be able to live in space as you do on Earth. That raises the question of a force stronger than Kiram. Even at three or four hundred percent over his maximum power, a spell that would simultaneously wipe out all technology and all knowledge would be impossible. So at the highly weakened state he was in, it is nearly one hundred percent certain that he could not do it. There must have been a force using him as nothing more than a pawn to set the stage for its own arrival,"

"Wait, how powerful are we talking about?" Yugi questioned,

"Yami has yet to use even five percent of his full power. His power is so great that using even slightly too much could be disstrous. The power of the pharaoh is so extreme that there is none greater in the farthest reaches of the universe. The hidden force, however, must have a power somewhere between thirty-five and fifty percent of that. It most likely will be after the pyramid so as to attempt to transfer the power of our pharaoh to itself,"

"This unknown entity can try all it wants, but we're not going to let it win. We'll defeat it one way or another. There is no way I will let it get to Yami's pyramid," Vash promised.

At that, an announcement came on providing the abbreviated schedule for the remainder of the day. Each period was shortened to about five to ten minutes. There would also be no classes for the rest of the week and throughout the duration of the tournament. This was more to do with the logistical hassle of these events taking place in the city, rather than any perceived deference to the relatively small number of students that might be participating, or the nearly universal student body that might want to watch the tournament.

The gang breezed through the majority of the day until the final period with Kenshin. Tea was the first to enter the room and noticed something odd immediately.

"Hey guys, why is Kenshin curled up on the floor in the fetal position sucking his thumb?" Tea questioned.

Vash walked over to Kenshin and said to him simply, "Is it her?" Kenshin nodded. Vash sighed unhappily and helped Kenshin off the floor. Hinoki went to help Vash. She looked at Vash and he nodded. Everyone else, including Kaede who had just wrapped up her science class, looked at each other in confusion. It seemed like forever before Noa sent a question to Vash.

"Vash, what's going on?"

"The woman we saw this morning, Ms. Serenity Runa Dantes, she is Kenshin's younger sister,"

The shock on everyone's face was dead, like seeing a ghost or some other apparition.

"You have a sister Kenshin? Since when?"

"As you can see Tea, Kenshin is a toddler at the moment. I'll try to explain all I can until he regains his composure,"

"Please do Hinoki,"

"Well, Serenity Runa Dantes is really the little sister of Kenshin. They had been separated at birth. For some unknown reason, their mothers both seemingly tried to kill them. Needless to say, it didn't work. What it did do was to unlock the powers they had hidden inside themselves. You see, we're not exactly completely human.

"The original insurgence of the creatures from other dimensions started when an alien species, given the name Lucifer Hawk, tried to invade this world. In the beginning, the Hawks had the distinct advantage. Humans were going to face extinction if they couldn't find an answer in the war. A small band of doctors researched into what was thought to be the myth of powerful creatures that could save the human race.

"They were able to summon the creatures with magical spells. It worked and all the Hawks were thought to have been pushed back. It turned out not to be the case at all. He was the one that created us. He had produced a chemical compound that would transform humans into mutants. The goal was to create a female mutant to be its bride and create the next generation of Lucifer Hawks that would rule the world. That is what Kenshin, his sister and the rest of us are. We are all approximately fifty percent Lucifer Hawk and fifty percent human.

"When their mothers eventually found out what had happened to them and what their children's purpose was, they were highly upset. They knew their children had great powers and that soon they would be chased by the Lucifer Hawk and those it had working with it. Kenshin and Serenity's mothers both stabbed them allowing their powers to surface. You see, as half Hawk, we cannot realize our powers until we undergo significant training or suffering some form of psychological trauma. This way they could protect themselves.

"Serenity had not realized this at first and therefore had hostility and contempt towards not just her mother but also the entire of the human race. The Lucifer Hawk gave her the idea that humans would never accept her being half Hawk and upon being discovered she would be slaughtered. But his plans did not quite work out. She agreed that humans should die but once she discovered she had a brother, she decided to kill the Hawk and take her brother as her husband. She allowed the Hawk to produce the weapon it planned to use on the Earth before killing it.

"After locating and confronting her brother she was ready to kill him. He refused to help her destroy the Earth. The two battled for a while before Kenshin was finally able to convince Serenity that they could live on Earth together in peace,"

"Serenity does sound to be very powerful, but after all that, why is Kenshin so frightened?"

"Well, Serenity can still be an imposing figure,"

"Imposing?" Kenshin was awake again. "You've gotta be kidding me! My sister is a psychopath, a complete mental case!"

"Come on now. Calm down Kenshin. We'll protect you," Noa tried to reassure.

"She can't possibly be that scary. I mean you beat her once, and she's not trying to kill everyone. So what's the problem?"

"Looks like Kenshin's out again; oh well." Vash continued. "Serenity has a nickname, Angel of Death. If you met her, you would be frightened by how friendly and joyful she is. She is as sweet and innocent as a baby kitten. Upset her and you face another story altogether. The terror and agony a person would face with her is not something you would wish on anyone."

"If you two know so much about her, then why didn't you say anything when you saw her this morning?"

"Because we weren't sure," Hinoki defended. "Serenity prefers to change her appearance often. We have only seen her once and it wasn't even her true form. When I heard the name it rang a bell, but I still couldn't be sure,"

"Alright, now I have a question,"

"Sure Kaede. I'll try my best to answer,"

"Vash, we now know the back-story, but why is Kenshin so terrified of meeting her. It's been ages since they last met; you would think he would be overjoyed that she lived all this time and he could speak with her,"

There was a long pause of nearly a minute, but seemed a lot longer. Vash finally spoke and said, "Runa, as she prefers to be called, and Kenshin can live as long as the other is alive as you well know," Vash then paused again.

"Come on Vash, what is it?"

"Okay guys but you have to control your reactions to what I am about to say,"

"Vash, there is nothing more you could say that could shock us,"

"Alright Noa, I hope you're right. Here goes. Runa...Serenity...man I hope Kenshin doesn't flip for me saying this...Serenity wants to marry Kenshin,"

The congregation stood frozen once more. As though a spell had trapped them in a state of suspended animation they made no movement for over a minute with their jaws dropped straight to the floor. Noa finally broke the silence when he said, "I would like to withdraw my last statement." The next remark came from Sakuda.

"I think I may have heard wrong but did he just say that Kenshin's sister wants to marry him?"

"You weren't hearing things Sakuda. After killing the Lucifer Hawk she proclaimed she did it because she would much prefer to marry her brother and she has been absolutely relentless in her quest to wed Kenshin. That is where you come in Yugi,"

"Whoa! Wait a minute! Hinoki! What does any of this have to do with me?"

"Runa says that the only way she will let Kenshin get away is if she can be defeated in a Shadow Duel by Kenshin or another man. Kenshin and Vash have already lost. You are most likely 2YV08, the entry she is interested in seeing duel,"

"Why me? I mean I just found out about all this, besides, I don't want to get married!"

Kenshin suddenly sprang upright and stared straight into Yugi's eyes with a dead stare like a risen zombie. His eyes then turned large and watery making him look like a scolded dog.

"Yugi, I'm begging you, please defeat her!"

"Yeah, but what then? I mean, even if I can find some way to do what you and Vash couldn't, what about afterwards? How am I supposed to avoid getting married to your sister?"

"Quite a dilemma you've got on your hands there little Yugi. Do you beat the very beautiful but crazy Runa and marry her or do you take the fall to avoid being stalked by a mental case the rest of your life and leave it on Kenshin,"

"You're not helping Yugi at all Noa! Why don't you challenge her instead since you think she's so beautiful?" Tea replied with a fiery burst.

"You're kidding! I may not have witnessed it, but I heard the stories. Vash can tell you himself that a duel with her is almost enough to make you wish you could battle Kiram instead,"

"Is it true Vash?"

"Yeah... it's true, Tea. It was actually Yami, not me, but she's the only person, other than Hinoki, to ever beat him, much less as badly as she did,"

Vash now joined Kenshin curled in the fetal position on the floor sucking his thumb. Tea turned to Hinoki with a sigh and a mumble under her breath.

"Hinoki, please tell me it wasn't that bad,"

"Why don't I share with you all my memories of the duel? Trust me... it won't take long. Everyone calm your minds,"

Hinoki darkened the room and projected an image all around them. The scene was obviously in the Shadow Realm. Yami stood around twenty feet from another woman. Rini and Anzu stood to the side, closely watching the impending duel. The events of the duel were too quick to explain. Two turns was all it took. Two plays were all that the strange woman made. In that brief period of time, Yami the pharaoh, ruler of the Shadow Realm, king of games, had been bested in a duel. The only dialogue that could actually be heard was from the woman. "Just call me Runa. Now please direct me to my brother so that we may get married right away." Those were her only words. This ended the three dimensional flashback. For a third time now they all stood aghast at the event.

"You want me to stop that! That wasn't a defeat, that was a like a massacre except much more vicious! Her eyes, at first they glowed softly like a feather gliding in the breeze. But as soon as the duel began they changed. They became incredibly fierce. They went from the gentle red glow to a violent, fiery, piercing red. I've never seen a duelist shift so easily and quickly before. She has a determination unimaginable. It's no wonder Yami lost so quickly. Sorry guys but even if I dueled my hardest, I really can't see any way that I would fare any better.

"But… Kenshin, you are a friend and friends do whatever they can to help each other. I'll do my best to defeat Runa. Hey, who knows, maybe it won't be so bad being Kenshin's brother?" Yugi finished giving a dry laugh that conveyed his not being amused.

"Ah! Yugi, you have no idea what this means to me. You're the best friend a guy can have. I'll make sure you have an amazing a wedding,"

Yugi smiled nervously thinking about Kenshin's word choice as well as the mess he just got himself into. Kenshin was releasing a river of apparent tears of joy. As the day ended, they all decided to leave for Yugi's house to see how the tournament would shape up. Kenshin did little to hide his joy. It was obvious that the threat of his sister was something that constantly haunted him. As they walked towards Yugi's home, they noticed many people packing to leave town.

"I wonder where everybody is going,"

"Don't worry about it Sakuda. People in this town aren't too fond of dueling. Shadow Duel has bought a lot of jobs and money to this town but the people still don't like it. If it weren't for dueling, many people would be poor. It has never done anything bad or negative since it was introduced. They never hesitate to use up the funds it brings on stupid things, but still they complain about the game. They don't like it, calling it evil. Yugi and I have seen this but it doesn't matter to us. We do what we think is right and don't let other people intimidate us,"

"I guess grandpa isn't home," Yugi noted after checking around. "The invitation must be up in my room. Grandpa never bothers to check my mail,"

"Your family owns this card shop? Hah, that must be pretty convenient. Think you could get me a pack at half price?"

"Are you kidding Noa? I'm already doing Kenshin one favor. Besides, my grandpa is a killer businessman. _I _can't even get a discount on a pack of cards here,"

"Ah, oh well. Another time I guess,"

"Hey, there's a package on my bed," Yugi said as they reached his room. "It seems pretty big for a simple invitation,"

"Let's open it and see what's going on,"

"Alright... there's a letter. It says,

' Hello entry 2YV08,

You definitely know who I am by now. I have seen you duel many times now and your skills are just as good as Yami's, or should I say Vash since that is his present form. You're not quite up to par with Hinoki but that is to be expected. I must admit that you are cute but not as cute as my big brother. Anyway, I would prefer to explain the rest in person...'"

"Stop reading!"

"Kenshin, what's wrong? Why does Yugi have to stop reading?"

"Too late, big brother. How are you? It's been way too long,"

"Ahhhhhhhh! Someone! Save me!"

"Now don't act like that big brother. You know you're happy to see me,"

"Shouldn't we help him you guys?"

"Trust me Tea. It will all be over in a minute,"

Somehow Runa had made it to Yugi's room. She had a firm grasp around Kenshin's neck as he screamed and wailed hoarsely while trying to squirm away. Either out of energy or unconscious due to a lack of oxygen - likely the latter seeing as how he was blue in the face - Kenshin ceased to move or make a sound.

"Uh-oh. My poor brother seems to have worn himself out. Is it okay if Kenshin rests on your bed Yugi?"

"Y-Yeah. I guess so,"

"Forgive me for not properly introducing myself. I am Serenity Runa Dantes. It's a pleasure to meet all of you again. Not still mad about our last duel I hope Vash,"

"Runa, are you here to finally take Kenshin?"

"Nope. Not yet, Hinoki. I promised him that I would beat his challengers. Now Yugi, I know you will be competing - Kenshin has likely already convinced you to go in - so I'll tell you the rules," Runa opened her hand and revealed a blue octagon shaped coin with a sparkling blue diamond in the center.

"Here is your first blue diamond coin. As you know, you will need eleven more. There is very little chance that I will not be at the top of Crystal Point Tower when you get your twelve. You can duel whomever you want as long as they have a duel disc. However, you are not required to accept any challenges. All duelists are required to have at least six coins by day three or they will be disqualified. Six allows you entry to the tower. From there you continue challenging other duelists. Anyone who drops below six will be eliminated. After six days those with twelve coins will be allowed to the upper levels of the tower. If it so happens that a duelist gets twelve coins before the sixth day, then you will of course be allowed to the top immediately. The last qualifier will be no later than the end of the sixth day. The finals of the first six to make it, which will include me, will begin the dawn of the seventh day after the end of my little statement,"

"Okay, seems simple enough,"

"Don't even think it Hinoki. To ensure that I don't waste my time dueling Vash or my brother again I didn't invite them; although I do agree with you that it would make for an interesting situation,"

"While you're here, would you like anything to drink or eat Runa?"

"No thank you Yugi. You know, if you do manage to beat me, it might not be so bad to be your wife," she commented airily. Yugi winced at this somewhat frightening thought. "Oh well. See you at the tournament. I have to finish a few things. Don't forget to finish reading the letter,"

Runa walked over to her brother and kissed him on the cheek before vanishing in several rings of light. Realizing Kenshin had been unconscious the entire time they now tried to revive him. After a couple of attempts Kenshin finally sat up again.

"Is she gone? Please tell me she's gone,"

"Take it easy Kenshin, she left. Settle down so Yugi can finish the letter. Go ahead Yugi,"

"Alright Sakuda. Now where did I leave off? Okay:

'Just in case I forgot, everyone is allowed to see our duel. They can teleport to the top when they are ready.

There are two more things. Also in the package is a special card. It is your proof of entry. You will need it to collect your duel disc. I know your thinking of making a copy Vash. There is a magic barrier to protect it from that. There are three pictures of me as well. One is for your friend Joey. One is for you to keep, Yugi, and the last is for my big brother. No you won't be able to destroy it big brother. See you again soon. It has been a pleasure. You really are kind of cute.

_Serenity Runa Dantes_

P.S.: Tell my big brother that I'll be thinking of him always. Let Noa know he never had a chance and if he doubts me he should look at his cup. Don't worry Yugi I bought a replacement cup. Hugs and kisses."

"What does she mean I never stood a chance?"

Everyone turned to look at the cup that Noa had been drinking from. When he went to pick it up the cup fell in half spilling all the drink inside. There was a straight cut through the cup yet the surface of the table lay untouched. Yugi went back to the package and looked inside. There was an envelope and a box. He first opened the box to find an exact duplicate of the cup, minus the cut of course. As guessed, the envelope held the three pictures. The stunned Noa finally spoke.

"How did she do that?"

"What, get here right when she did, know what you were thinking or perfectly slice that cup?"

"All of the above, if possible,"

"Well my sister is very highly adaptable. She has taken the ability to sense energy signals a bit further. She knows when someone is thinking or talking about her and can pinpoint their exact location. Every word, every thought that has to do with her, she knows just by sensing the change in energy levels to say certain words or register certain thoughts in your head. My sister waited for Yugi to read that part of the letter before coming here.

"As for what you were thinking Noa, as well as the cup, she was probably referring to an earlier thought, maybe at school. Her swordsmanship is remarkable. She uses a speed unfathomable. Only Vash and Hinoki would likely have been able to see her god-like speed go through the process of unsheathing her sword, cutting the cup and then sheathing her sword once more. It would only take her around one thousandth of a second,"

"One thousandth of a second? She could have killed us all before we could even realize what was happening,"

"Maybe Tea, unless... did you two see it?"

"I only saw when she put up her sword,"

"I saw her motion towards the cup but lost her after the initial movement to the sword. I kinda thought I was just seeing things," Yugi explained.

"It's a good thing she's on our side,"

"You're right about that Kaede. It would surely be a difficult battle. But I sense another battle ahead of us. It too appears to be a potentially exhausting affair,"

"You're never wrong about these things are you Sakuda?" Hinoki asked sarcastically.

"Not to this day Hinoki," Sakuda answered back with a light laugh.

"There is no point in worrying about it now. It is likely not Kiram. He is a highly intelligent person and is one to think strategically. If he were to make a serious move at my powers, he would know better than to do it during this competition. I'm sure he would be aware that we would all be there, and he knows of how great Runa's powers are. It would be a costly error on his part,"

"Vash is right. There is no urgent business ahead of us for a few days and school is out until the conclusion of the duel tournament. Why don't we take tomorrow to just have some fun?"

"You said it Yugi. We haven't had this much time to ourselves for a while. We shouldn't let it go to waste,"

"No objections here. I don't know how a person can stand to teach those loud, disruptive people,"

"Your students are that bad?"

"Students? I was talking about the administration, constantly entering the classes to say something or another," Kaede complained.

"Then we all agree? We'll meet here at 8:30 tomorrow morning,"

They all went to the front door and said their good evenings. Tea walked slowly as though she had an urge not to leave. She had great deal on her mind. When Yugi and Vash were out of sight, Hinoki began to talk with her telepathically.

"Are you okay Tea? You seem to be quieter than usual,"

"Sorry. It's just that I'm worried about what is going to happen at the tournament. I always cheer Yugi on and encourage him to do the best he can, but this is totally different. If he wins this one, he'll have to marry Runa. Losing isn't much of an option for him either. I don't know what he should do,"

"You shouldn't worry. Trust him. Know that whatever he does, it will be the right thing. There is no sense worrying yourself about it too much. I know it's hard but try and relax,"

"I guess you're right. How about you? You've been quiet most of the day yourself," Hinoki waited a while before answering.

"Were not much different; Lucifer Hawks and humans,"

"Huh! What do you mean?"

"As humans we claim superiority over all other creatures citing greater intelligence. We pride ourselves on being able to conquer our basic animal instincts and creating a world where we live in amazing comfort. We live wherever we choose. All we need do is adapt that environment to suit our desires. But no matter how much we may try to deny it, we are still animals. We seek the same things; food and shelter. We experience pain and share one key attribute; the will to survive,"

"The will to survive?"

"All the inventions, all conflicts, everything we work for is to ensure our own survival. We disregard the consequences of our actions. All we care for is reaching that point where we can live forever in infinite youth. Lucifer Hawks are no different,"

"I kind of lost you there," Tea awkwardly laughed.

"The Lucifer Hawks came to this world in secret all those centuries ago, promising that they would make humans immortal. Their real reason was that they were seeking to make themselves immortal. They had worked for years on formulas and came to a conclusion. They discovered a chemical that could only be made in very minute quantities and went on a search for it. The chemical occurs naturally in humans and conversely a chemical that could make humans immortal is found naturally only in Hawks.

"Our two worlds, Earth and Nemesis, have a similar yet unique plant. The seed of the plant of Nemesis when imbedded into the head of a human instantly kills the human. The seed takes root and eventually grows a single edible fruit. When a Hawk eats this they are then immortalized. That was the Lucifer Hawk's plan for the human race, a supply of plant beds to nourish every single Lucifer Hawk with immortality. Before Earth knew it an army of nearly unstoppable Hawks was growing.

"The future looked bleak, but a flaw was discovered. The chemical did not protect against magic. All humans and Hawks posses a degree of magic, some more than others,"

"You mean like me and Yugi,"

"No. You two are different. The ones I mean are those who were first let out on this world, those depicted on the Shadow Duel cards. In months the entire Lucifer Hawk population was devastated. That is what was thought anyway. As a part of their plan, several children were born into this world half human and half Lucifer Hawk. They looked like ordinary children so therefore, after the Lucifer Hawks were all gone from Earth, those parents who even knew the truth chose to keep it secret for fear of misunderstanding by people and what may happen to their children.

"A few years went by, and then one of those children was supposedly killed by her mother. That was Runa. She was the eldest of the children. Her mother knew the entire story. She knew that the unknown side effect of the evil experiment was that each child had the potential for an incredible power. This power, conversely, could take a long time to manifest, time that was not available. In addition the children were immortal in the truest sense.

"One Lucifer Hawk, the one behind the plans, had survived the war and come back for one of the children so as to groom her to be his bride and restart the plan for a population of immortals. Runa and Kenshin's mother knew they could not be killed if they could reach their power. Runa's mother stabbed her to jar a surge to awaken their powers so they could defend themselves. It was too late for Runa's mother but Runa was saved.

"Kenshin suffered the same fate at the hands of his adopted mother. He wandered finding many 'Soul Fragments' of Runa. These Soul Fragments are little copies that seem to act like a random part of her greater personality. Whether it will do good or commit evil varies. Kenshin encountered many of these and helped to protect them from capture. He was upset however to discover that he failed them as they were still captured and destroyed when they were discovered not to be the real Runa.

"Kenshin did finally find his sister on the moon. When he had arrived, Runa had done away with the Lucifer Hawk. All the years she had been on the run, she was on that moon waiting for her brother to find her, the brother she remembered as being so nice to her before she even knew him as a brother, and the one who protected her from bullies when she was little. She loves him very much. And even though it doesn't always seem like it, he loves her very much too. She loves him so much that no matter what happens she will always still want to marry her fairytale prince in shining armor. But they both know the other cares very, very much despite how they act towards one another.

"Unlike humans or Lucifer Hawks, we are not forever stuck trying to find a way to live forever more. We can focus on doing what makes us happy. We do not feel the need to kill anything that posses the slightest threat to us but try to see if we can coexist,"

"You keep saying 'We'. I don't understand why. Whom are you referring to?"

"I am referring to those born half human and half Lucifer Hawk. I am talking about me, you, Yugi, Yami, Sisi, May, Noa, as well as Runa and Kenshin. We nine are all part Hawk and part human,"

"No, no! It can't be. There is no way. How can it be that Yugi and I are part Lucifer Hawk?"

"Yami, Yugi, you, and I all share a single blood line. The genetic pattern for a Lucifer Hawk is so recessive that it took several millennia for it to even appear. You and Yugi are the first generation since Yami and me to be born with any trace of the Lucifer Hawk DNA.

"You know...many humans have a nasty habit of labeling an entire group as bad based on the actions of a few from that group. Tell me Tea, do you think that all Lucifer Hawks are evil beings because they posses dark powers?"

"No, not at all. It doesn't matter what powers you have as long as you do the right thing with your abilities. I never bought the idea of a person with powers of light all being good and people with powers of dark all being evil. The powers inside a person may be dark but the person can choose if they want to use that power to do good or evil,"

"But that is what we worry about. We fear that by digging too deep into our dark powers, we may release an uncontrollable evil urge. If that happens...if that happens, there may be no way to stop us. We could become a purely evil force. I don't know if we could ever take such a dangerous risk,"

"I can't explain how I know, but I have a feeling that no matter what happens, you'll never change. You have always been a nice and caring person. A person can never completely change. Deep inside they will always be the same. Besides, Yugi and I will always be there to turn you around when you're upside down, just the way the song goes,"

"Thank you Tea. You are a great friend. All right! No more worries! We will go into the future and do what we know is right. We won't let fears of things that may or may not come rule us. When it does, if it does, we will get through it,"

"Yeah! Our next step into the future begins in seven days. Between now and then, we will have as much fun as possible,"


	12. Chapter 11 - Road to the Championship

**CHAPTER 11: The Road to the Championship**

The next day they all gathered at eight thirty just as planned – almost as planned anyway. Runa decided to tag along with her brother and, hopefully, future husband. They first went straight to the mall in real style. Runa hired private limos to take them all under a pseudonym to avoid the obvious swarming of fans and whatnot. That was her excuse anyway, though clearly not one too firmly grounded in reality.

Once at the mall, Serenity for this outing forced Kenshin and Yugi to wait as she tried on wedding gowns. Vash and the others went to other departments to check out movies, clothes and games. They returned to find Kenshin and Yugi in a tuxedo, and spent a great deal of time making fun of the two of them until Serenity made them stop.

Next stop was the food court where they stuffed themselves on pizza, burgers, fries and hot dogs, finally topping it all off with ice cream sundaes. They then went to the arcade. While inside Noa, Yugi, Vash and Kenshin ditched the ladies and went to check out new Shadow Duel cards. Hinoki realized this quickly and the boys were greeted with a painful punch to the back of the head. Likely for further punishment, Tea, Hinoki, Runa, Sakuda and Kaede spent the next two hours buying things, over a thousand dollars worth, which the ditchers had to carry.

Finally leaving the mall at about four that afternoon, they went to the airport to see Joey off on his trip. Yugi used a little magic to slip the autographed photo of Runa into Joey's bag. They now headed home to enjoy the remainder of their evening.

"Why do I follow you Vash... it only gets me into trouble,"

"Me! It was your idea Noa,"

"Why don't you both stop whining?" Kaede remarked.

"But why is it Yugi and Kenshin don't have to help us?"

"Would you like to take up your complaint with Serenity?"

"Never mind… What are you going to do tonight anyway Kaede?"

"I don't know. Any ideas Sakuda?"

"Let's see... do you think it would be okay Hinoki?"

"Sure, let's go. We can finally take our natural forms. Slifer probably misses Anzu and Rini so much,"

"Where are we going?"

"Tea, Yugi, we're going to have a party at our house,"

Hinoki, Vash, Kaede, Sakuda and Serenity changed back to their true selves; Anastasia, Yami, May, Sisi and Runa. Noa and Kenshin also made a quick change of clothing to a more royal motif. They were now all topped out in formal dress, capes, Shadow Items and all.

"Well, I'll see you all later,"

"Where are you going Anastasia?"

"I'm going to take a break so Rini and Anzu can have some fun. Don't worry Yugi, I'll be back soon,"

"Why are you so worried about her Yugi? Is she your girlfriend or something?"

"No, no Runa. I was just curious that's all,"

"You better be Yugi," Runa said in an eerily over possessive tone.

As Yugi was scolded by his potential wife, Anastasia smiled warmly and defused. Rini and Anzu were, once again, back in this realm. Rini stood in her long, dark, crimson red dress. Anzu was to Rini's right. She wore a dress with a blue top and a red skirt.

"Long time no see everyone. Hope you've been able to get along without us,"

"We managed okay without you Anzu. Ready to have some fun?"

"You bet. Come on, let's go,"

"Hey Yugi, I believe this is only the second time we've met. How have you been?"

"Back off Rini, you'll have to wait to see if he can beat me before you try at him!"

"Why, whatever do you mean Runa, I was just saying hello. Don't get all upset,"

Rini's tone made it obvious that she took Runa's threat lightly. Seeing the potential for a confrontation Yami decided it would be best to get the show going. He raised his hand and his scepter appeared. He grabbed it and drew a circle on the ground. The circle began glowing and a blue crystalline light shot up nearly seventeen feet into the air. Yami and Yugi took the first step into the light followed by Rini, Runa, Kenshin, May, Noa, Sisi, Anzu and Tea. After a brief five seconds or so they stood in an unfamiliar area.

"Tea, Yugi, welcome! This is our home,"

"It's different than when we dueled, Noa. This place is great,"

They had found themselves standing outside the gates of a city. The sky was clear yet they were surrounded by a constant stormy darkness. As they walked pass the gates and onto the street, many people stood and cheered as Yami, Anzu and Rini led the procession. When they finally reached the center of the city, they met another gate. This gate was a beautiful, smooth gold. At the top was a captivating design. There was the Twin Crescent Moons. Around it was a circle - a solid representation of the circle that always appeared when they used a powerful spell. It too was imbedded within a mystic symbol. It occupied the triangular space formed by three triangles touching each other. Each triangle was further divided with the same representation of three touching triangles.

Beyond the gates was a massive expanse of lush green grass. It went for quite a distance before ending at a gentle waterfall. It emptied into a lake maybe equal in size to the field. In the center rose a cliff, and like a statue on a pedestal rested the majestic castle that was home of the rulers of the Shadow Realm. It stood tall and imposing. The walls were smooth and shining like marble, but in a dark, almost black, crimson red. The beautiful structure was captivating, especially with the sapphire moon settled in the sky on its left and the ruby moon on its right. The captivation was broken abruptly however by a loud, thunderous roar followed by a roar of equal volume but higher pitch. Anzu and Rini quickly stepped up to the front with Yami. A wide, bright, exuberant smile covered their faces.

"What's going on?"

"You don't have to be alarmed Yugi. Think of it as though you've been on vacation and your dog is happy to see you come back,"

"What do you mean Noa? I've never..."

Before Tea could finish, she saw a figure appear above the castle. It was large and seemed familiar to her. As it grew closer she knew exactly what it was.

"Noa, the last thing I would compare Slifer the Shadow Dragon to, is a dog,"

"Would you rather I compared it to a bird?"

Slifer flew straight to Rini and Anzu stopping right in front of them. It licked both of their hands as they reached out to pet it. Slifer gave a small, hardly audible, roar as the two queens continued to gently rub the dragon's head. Yugi heard a faint sound. He looked back at the castle and saw another serpent like creature circling.

"Yami, I take it that one is yours,"

"That's right Yugi. You can just call her Suzami,"

As though it heard its name called, Suzami moved with lightning quick speed to her master's side. The slender, purplish blue dragon affectionately rubbed its head against its master's side while looking up at him with its shinny dark purple eyes.

"Awwww! Those two dragons are so loyal, and beautiful too. Oh Kenshin, do you think that we can get one?"

"Runa, I already told you that were not going to get married," Kenshin wearily replied.

"Humph! How about you Yugi? Will you get me a dragon if we get married?" Runa almost pleaded, standing behind Yugi with her hands on his shoulders.

"I guess if we get married you could have your own dragon," Yugi awkwardly answered while looking aslant. The marriage thing was still freezing his thoughts every time she said it.

As Noa, May and Sisi chuckled at the continued predicament Kenshin and Yugi found themselves in, Slifer and Suzami began to move closer to Tea and Yugi. They began to sniff them as if, like Tea thought, they were trying to see if it were a worthy prey.

"Rini, Anzu, Yami, what are Slifer and Suzami trying to do?"

"Did we do something wrong?"

"Not at all, just relax. Dragons recognize their owners by picking out the scent of their true energy," Amzu explained.

"Since were so closely related, they must have picked up your scent and realized it was nearly the same as Anzu, Yami and myself," Rini concluded.

"In other words... Suzami and Slifer will now also recognize you two as also being their owners and will protect you both,"

"Well Runa, it looks like if you marry Yugi you'll get your wish,"

"You're right about that Sisi," Runa tittered.

Yugi and Tea stood still as the dragons completed their inspection. They gave a roar at each other as though they were talking. Suzami then backed away and took off above them. Slifer began to nudge the two. It then lifted them onto its head and turned back at Anzu and Rini.

"Hang on you two, were heading for the castle,"

"Are you sure this is safe Anzu? I mean, won't we fall off?"

"Don't worry Tea. Slifer will not let you fall,"

"Besides, we will be right behind you,"

Slifer steadily rose into the air. Anzu, Rini, Sisi, Runa, May, Yami, Kenshin and Noa rose into the air. Slifer took off with Tea and Yugi resting on its head. Next to them was Suzami and following from behind was the rest of the group. From the air they could see everything for miles. Behind the castle was a stone path lined with tall Corinthian pillars on either side. The path ended at a large forest that extended to the side of the castle. This was where they were heading and were about to land.

"Where are we now?" Yugi asked.

"This is the entrance to the castle and that is the path to the Dragon's Sacred Lair," Yami explained, pointing out the two opposite directions. "There are only two safe ways to enter the castle. The first is to teleport and the second is to use this entrance. Unwelcome visitors who somehow know how to teleport and aimlessly teleport in will be forever lost and if you try to fly to this entrance or walk through the forest, you will be greeted by another dragon, or if you make it inside, by Suzami or Slifer here,"

"As far as hidden castles go Yami, this place is better secured than Hogwarts," Tea joked as she and Yugi looked around.

"What?"

"Never mind. So where are we going from here?"

"That's up to you and Yugi. Eventually you will get to see all of these places,"

"Where do you think we should start Yugi? Yugi?" Tea asked, but Yugi's reply seemed to be slow in coming.

"I... guess... the Dragon's Sacred Lair," Yugi stammered.

Tea turned to see Runa on her staff with her brother by the throat (who was apparently unconscious again) and holding Yugi's hand. Rini was on her staff as well with her arms around Yugi's neck as Runa flew down the path in the trees.

"Oh boy…" Noa sighed.

"Yami, you and Anzu should take Tea on the tour. The rest of us will head on inside and get everything ready. Besides, I don't think we could stand laughing anymore right now; we could end up having a heart attack,"

"You're right May. Okay then. We shouldn't be too long," Yami agreed with a wry laugh.

"Tea, Yami, come on, I don't want to miss anything,"

Tea, Anzu and Yami took off down the path. The path was long and dark. The only light came from the end of Anzu's staff. After about five minutes they saw a light signaling the end of the path.

When they emerged, they found themselves in a perpetual paradise. The center held a beautiful lake from which the two moons could be seen on the glass like surface. On the grass that surrounded the lake were several dragons. They all seemed at peace and gave little notice to the intruders in their home.

On the banks of the lake sat Rini, Yugi, Runa and Kenshin. They were looking into the night sky at the flickering lights that at first thought one could only imagine to be distant stars.

"Here we are Tea. This is the Dragon's Sacred Lair. Under the surface of this lake is a tunnel that leads to the lake and waterfall outside the castle. The cave at the base of the mountain is where many of the dragons choose to sleep. It is a very beautiful place."

"Yeah, that's why Yugi and I are going to get married here,"

"Maybe Rini, maybe,"

"What do you mean maybe? We're going to get married,"

"I have to beat him first. If I do then he's all yours,"

"And I don't get a say in whether I even want to get married?"

"Of course you don't!" the two women forcefully declared.

"If I may interrupt, could we go back to the castle to eat? You two can fight over Yugi after we've had a good meal,"

"Yami's right. Let's go sis,"

"Oh all right. But Yugi has to walk with me,"

"Fine, we're going,"

"This is a beautiful place though. How is it a place like this can exist for so long? The people act as though they've seen you all everyday of their lives?" Tea wondered aloud.

"That is because we, as well as this world and the people in it, exist outside of time,"

"Outside of time? All right Anzu, you've lost me. Go back. What do you mean you exist outside of time?"

"Yami's father, Yamiyugi, was a powerful mage and so were his wife Teana and me and Rini's mother. Together they created this world just before Yami was born. You could kind of think of this place as a sacred realm. It is only accessible through the use of magic. In addition, the same laws that bind Nemesis and Earth do not bind it. One such law is time. On Earth we, that is, Yami, my sister and I, are roughly over thirteen thousand years old. Here in the Shadow Realm we are about twenty-five years old. However, we will appear to be at most twenty years old for as long as we live.

"The Shadow Realm does not occupy a place in the dimensional band that Earth and Nemesis do, so therefore time functions differently. We could stay here for what seems like days and it will only be maybe a few minutes on either Nemesis or Earth. Being on either world would produce no effect on anyone during a shift in the flow of the Shadow Realm unless they are particularly keen to spiritual or magical energies thus creating the effect of déjà vu. That is why so many dragons come here. A hidden power of dragons is the ability to freeze time and then move between existing worlds. For this reason, seeing a dragon is a very lucky occasion, an honor in its own right,"

"Wow! So you're over thirteen thousand years old. And Yami's older than you? Who's the oldest?"

"Kenshin is older than Yami by a month in Earth time. Rini is my twin sister, so we're the same age and Yami is the same age as us. I think that makes Sisi the youngest. It may be May, I'm not entirely positive. Hey, we're back at the entrance. I'll show you to a room,"

"Oh... wait! Geraniums! I love Geraniums. There so beautiful,"

"I love them too. Go ahead. If you want to you can pick a few,"

"Great! Thanks Anzu,"

"Don't mention it. Come on let's go before Yami passes out from starvation,"

As they reached the beginning of the path once more, Tea and Yugi had stopped to look at the tall double doors. Large enough that Slifer could likely have no trouble passing through, the doors had two roses engraved on it. Below them was the Shadow Pyramid and under that were two Geraniums. There was also an inscription. It was the same thing that was written on the board at the school the previous day. The doors swung open onto an elegant and wide-open entry hall. A beautiful chandelier with no fewer that seventy candles sent light in every direction. Straight across the room, about thirty feet away, was another set of double doors. On either side of the doors was a staircase. They curved around towards each other leading up to the next floor. A balcony overlooked the area. At the top May stood in a long, vanilla white gown that grazed the floor.

"Welcome to the Shadow Castle. Dinner should be ready in twenty minutes. Make yourselves at home Yugi and Tea,"

Yugi and Tea leaped upwards and quickly vanished like a picture breaking up on an old style television. They reappeared at the top of the stairs where Yami and Anzu joined them. They split and walked down a long velvet carpet hallway. Yami and Yugi walked down to the left and Tea departed with Anzu to the right.

As Anzu and Tea walked in they came to a mahogany door. It opened to a massive and lavishly furnished room. There was an exquisite mixture of precious metals and fabrics that gladdened the senses. The walls were adorned with elegant portraits. The first inordinate room led into a second and a third room.

"Tea...this is your royal chamber. Everything you need is in this room and the rooms connected to this room. You can find some lovely outfits in the closet in the room to the right,"

"Wait, Anzu, who is that in the picture over the table?"

"Oh, that was me when I was six or so. You probably don't recognize me since my hair was still like Rini's back then. It was my birthday. We had a lot of fun. I had my first Shadow Duel that day. It's hard to believe how horrible that year ended,"

"How did it go, the duel I mean?"

"Very well. I snuck out to a card shop to play. I was disguised as a slightly older kid at the time. Yami disguised himself as my older brother. I won the duel. I had a blast,"

"Wow. I hope I can see you actually duel sometime!"

"I could say the same thing of you. How is your dueling?"

"I don't really get too much practice. There isn't that many people even remotely close to Yugi or me, which just about rules out the possibility of dueling there. Yugi and I never duel each other. Occasionally someone will challenge Joey. If they win then they challenge me and lose. You won't often see anyone directly challenge Joey or us. They stick to dueling everyone else until they see Joey duel and they feel they can beat us. The only time we, I mean Yugi and I, challenge anyone is when we participate in the tournaments at the card shops around town,"

"You would think that people would stop challenging you two,"

"Well that would make sense, but we enter anonymously to try and stay out of the limelight. It's worked great so far,"

"We can go to the card shop some time. Right now we should get ready for the dinner,"

Anzu walked out the door and left down the stairs. Meanwhile, Yami had already shown Yugi his room.

The double doors at the bottom of the stairs opened to the dining area. Three chandeliers hung from the ceiling over the polished marble table in the center. On the left of the room were several doors to the kitchen. The other two walls were of glass straight on up through the second floor. At the glass wall that was directly across from the dining room entrance was a set of glass doors. To the left and right of the doors was a staircase that led to a balcony in similar fashion to the prior room. It too had glass doors. They led to an outdoor balcony large enough to hold an extended family get together. It looked down upon the grass of the lawn that was where the party had arrived what was already just a couple hours ago. The two moons cast a lovely, shadowy light on the grass that evoked a sense of pleasant nostalgia.

It was ten minutes later that everyone returned. Rini and Anzu were adorned in similar gowns. Each was black with Roses and Geraniums printed all over. It was now easy to see that they were twin sisters. Sisi wore a long sky blue gown that was touched off with lace around the bottom and neckline. May chose a soft lilac purple ballroom like dress. Runa entered in a cream gown similar to the one she tried on at the mall earlier that day.

As for the guys, Yami was decked out in black slacks, black dress shirt, and his black and red cape. Noa went with essentially the same garments but in white and no cape. Kenshin, not having any say in the matter, was by far the most dressed up wearing a complete tuxedo of navy blue.

The final two to enter were of course Yugi and Tea. Yugi fashioned navy blue slacks of a soft material. The shirt worn was buttoned straight up but collarless and of the same color as the pants but of a silky material. He too wore a long flowing cape of red and black - although the black could also have been a deep navy blue - that shone with such a luster that it appeared to be made of steel. Around his neck, like Yami, was of course the Shadow Pyramid.

Tea's look was vastly different than her usual, mostly in part to the new hairstyle she had. It was long and silk shiny. She wore an elegant, long, sapphire dress. Over the dress was a long, transparent, silk, ruby red shawl. The strange stone that was embedded within the shell, the one she had twirled around the night after finding out about Yugi's powers, was now part of a necklace she was wearing.

With everyone gathered they all sat to dinner. The table was made of solid marble. Carved ever so carefully into the table was the symbol recently described by Anzu as the Trinity Force.

The Trinity Force was one of several symbols used to show that the authority of the pharaoh was at work - three triangles of red blue and purple each representing Nemesis, Earth and the Shadow Realm respectively. Throughout history it has been seen time and time again as a symbol of power and authority.

Being that the table was marble, the color differences were not present. They would have been difficult to see anyway as the table was laden with food. The choices of cuisine were seemingly endless.

They ate their fill over the next hour or more, including dessert. After a few minutes of unequivocal discussion a guard of the palace stepped forward into the room. Yami looked to the guard and nodded. The guard bowed and left once again. Yami stood up and stepped away from the table.

"Okay everyone, it's time. Tea and Yugi, please follow me. We have a very short ceremony to attend,"

Tea and Yugi rose and stepped forward. They were followed by Anzu, Rini and finally the rest of the group in unison. As though it were a procession, they all walked in a slight march to the stairs leading to the balcony. They climbed to the top. As they approached the double doors they flew open.

They stepped out onto the grand ballroom sized balcony and looked out onto the lawn. Thousands of people had gathered on the field. As they saw the pharaoh and queens they erupted into applause. As they did, Slifer and Suzami landed and rested on the ground beneath the balcony on either side. Yami raised his staff and the roar of the congregation came to an end.

"Good evening everyone. It is truly a phenomenal feeling to know that even without Rini, Anzu and I, you all can live in peace and prosperity. You should all be proud.

"Now, we have returned with two very important people. I trust that you will convey the same respect that you give us to the two you are to meet.

"Their names are Yugi and Tea. Rest assured they are more than worthy of the honor bestowed upon them. They are virtuous, intelligent, and brave. They know a great deal and entail that knowledge along with an incredible ability to look deep into the hearts of others and learn quickly.

"Yugi and Tea have already been accepted by Slifer and Suzami. We, the ones who live outside of time - Sisi, Noa, May, Kenshin, Runa, Anzu, Rini and I, the eight members of the Rosencraft of the Shadow Realm - now declare that we have officially accepted them into the Rosencraft of the Shadow Realm. Yugi is now to be the pharaoh along my side. Tea shall rule as queen alongside Anzu and Rini. The Shadow Pyramid and the Shadow Stone have chosen their path and divided themselves in accordance. From this day forward, let it be known, Tea and Yugi will now and forever more be known as King and Queen respectively of the Trinity Force; the worlds of Shadow Realm, Nemesis, and Earth. We of the Rosencraft will ensure that peace extends to all the worlds. We proudly present the new pharaohs, King Yugi and Queen Tea!"

Suzami and Slifer raised their heads and unleashed powerful blasts straight up into the air that collided with each other sending down on the masses a harmless shower of light. The crowd exploded into thunderous cheering and applause.

Not knowing what else to do, Tea and Yugi stood smiling and waving at the adoring people below. The rest of the Rosencraft stood behind them with enthusiastic applause. The evening sky was illuminated with the blasts from Suzami and Slifer meeting comfortably between the two moons that were Earth and Nemesis.


	13. Chapter 12 - The Tournament Begins

**CHAPTER 12: Honi soit qui mal y pense, la belle dame sans merci. The Tournament Begins**

The applause faded, the light show ended and so too did this day in the Shadow Realm. The group now known to be the Rosencraft had retreated to the confines of the palace. Inside, Tea and Yugi phoned their families to let them know they would be 'spending the night at a friend's house'. Citing preparation for the tournament gained the yes answers they were looking for.

The next twelve Earth hours, some very long time in the Shadow Realm, was like an extensive vacation. Each day was filled with fun as Yugi and Tea became familiar with the Shadow Realm and learned to harness the full extent of their powers.

One day, towards the end of their stay, Tea was helping Runa take care of Selenity, a baby Hyozanryu Kenshin and Yugi got for Runa a couple weeks earlier mainly as a way to keep her away from them. It didn't work very well. Hyozanryu is the dragon of diamonds. Its claws are indestructible diamonds; hence you could easily see why it didn't exactly remove Runa's attention. Think about it guys; if you give a girl an endless supply of diamonds, the biggest and brightest diamonds in the universe, do you think she will ever forget who gave them to her?

Having been fed, Selenity decided to go for a swim and Runa followed. Tea walked back to the castle. In the large room after the comparatively small entrance were two ivory Baby Grand pianos. Rini and Anzu were both playing the same song in perfect harmony.

"That's a nice song. May I ask what it is?"

"Oh, sure Tea. Anzu and I were just playing one of our favorite songs. It's called the Prelude of Time,"

"It is a very beautiful song. Would you mind teaching it to me?"

"Not at all. Rini and I will have to eventually anyway. It is one of the Songs of Ages. A large part of certain spells rely on the ability to properly manipulate these melodies to allow the proper effect. But trust me; it's a lot of fun,"

"This Prelude of Time is actually a less powerful version of another song called the Endless Waltz of Time,"

"Is it possible to see a demonstration?"

"Sure! Yami and Yugi are going to the gate. We can catch up to them if we leave now,"

"Yugi! Come on then, let's go!"

"Rini, Calm down,"

"Too late Anzu. It looks like she's gone. What is the gate by the way?"

"Oh! Sorry I never explained it. The gate is actually better known as the Gates of Chaos. It is the gateway to the home of the beings depicted on the Shadow Duel cards. I'll explain on the way,"

They left through the front door and found Rini waiting impatiently for Anzu and Tea. Slifer gave a small, gentle, cheerful growl at Tea as she charmingly rubbed its head. The three climbed on its head and, as if they had already planned the day, Slifer took off without a word straight for the Gates of Chaos.

"Alright, after the wars with Nemesis, Earth was filled to the limits with displaced beings, most of which were animals that did not know how they would survive on their own in this world. They became fearful of humans and people began to fear them as well.

"There were only a few mages who could control the monsters, as they were called. These mages saw the power they could have and rather than seek a way to return the beings to their own world, tried to keep a hold on them. The original version of the Shadow Realm became something of a holding pen so as to call forth the beings at will.

"However, the mages did not realize that the beings' strength was increasing. The mages were too concerned with furthering their own powers and did so through battles they called duels. Anyone capable of summoning one of the beings could participate. Eventually the mages lost control. They would begin duels and their summoned beings would ignore orders and go off on their own. The mages were unable transport them.

"Earth was quickly in a whole lot of trouble. The creatures were seen as evil because they destroyed cities and killed farm animals in search of food and shelter. The mages refused to acknowledge that they lost their control because of their foolish pride. Meanwhile the Shadow Realm lay abandoned.

"Yami's father was the one who created the Shadow Realm of today. He had grown disgusted with the grotesquely irresponsible acts of the mages, even more so because he himself, although not allied with them, was a mage as well. He was a far more benevolent and powerful person than they but had always believed people deserved a second chance. He one day challenged the mages. Still too proud to admit error, they accepted. He transported them all to the Shadow Realm, an area known as the Abyss Realm, and beat them in a duel, the very first Shadow Game. Yamiyugi then made the mages an offer; live on Earth powerless, live in the Shadow Realm with him as ruler, or to perish. They did not like any of the choices and died that day.

"Using the magical energies he gained from the mages, Yamiyugi created the Gates of Chaos. Located inside a beautiful temple, the gates are sealed and can only be open when, ' The Endless Waltz of Time sings in harmony with the three keys and the power that lies behind,'"

"What in the world does that mean?"

"To open the door, you first need three specific Shadow Items; mine, Rini's and Yami's. Yugi's can work the same as Yami's and yours will work the same as Anastasia's, meaning that it will split in two if the need arises. Those are the keys. The Endless Waltz of Time obviously refers to the song. Half of the power that lies behind is under your feet,"

"You mean Slifer. Then my guess would be that Suzami is the other half. But why? What does it mean that they are 'the power that lies behind'?"

"First off, Slifer is of course a Saint Beast. Second, Suzami may look it but it is not really a Serpent Night Dragon. Suzami, being the same size as Slifer, is much larger than a real Serpent Night Dragon. Suzami is a Blue Eyes Red Serpent Night Dragon. It represents the natural evolution of the dragon over millions of years. The original Red Serpent Night Dragon species was born into three different forms in later generations. The result was that most disappeared. Its kin are the Blue Eyes White Dragon, Red Eyes Black Dragon and the Serpent Night Dragon. Each is powerful in its own right but none as powerful as Red Serpent Night Dragon. Luckily Suzami is a very kind and gentle one. Just like Slifer. Isn't that right Slifer?" Slifer happily acknowledged Anzu's compliment.

"Beyond the gate is another gate of sorts. It is the Gate of Worlds. It is a room more than a door. In the center is a platform, the stage from which the Songs of Ages are played.

"We're here. It looks like they waited for us,"

They arrived upon a large cathedral style building. It looked old and rustic but maintained a certain appeal only found in brand new homes or truly great old buildings. The doors were oak with brass accents. Rini leaped down and wrapped her arms around Yugi's neck like a child does on its mother's leg.

"Glad you could make it. Ready to go?"

"What are we doing?"

"Today Tea, we are going to travel through the forest terminal. From time to time we make visits to the Five Lands from which the Shadow Duel monsters originated. We check to see how everything is progressing or if there are any problems we can work out,"

They walked in through the door followed by Suzami and Slifer. Inside, they stood in a vast room. Along the tops of the walls were arched windows of stained glass. Gentle cool rays from the bright sun were reflected through the glass. Stone pillars trimmed in gold lined the walls.

At the end of the room was a set of three steps the width of the room. They were behind a pedestal that was made of black pearl. It held an inscription in the same mysterious language of which Yugi and Tea had once read. The destination of the steps was a heavily engraved door of possibly polished obsidian or maybe some similar stone.

Yami, Rini, and Anzu walked to the door. The Trinity symbol glowed on their foreheads. As though answering to it, the doors slowly swung inwards. It unveiled a room, which, for the most part, was empty. It was dark save a single area of light shining in from an opening in the cathedral ceiling. It shone on a platform. Atop the platform rested a piano similar to the one at the castle. The circular room could only be seen when they approached the piano. A glow was emitting from the walls in several colors meeting in the center on the piano.

"Which song are you going to play?" Yugi asked Anzu as she sat at the piano.

"I'm playing the Minuet of Awakening. It is a lovely song, a close second to the Prelude of Light and Endless Waltz of Time,"

She began to play. The music filled the room. It created a remarkably entrancing spell on the room. The lights rotated around the room clockwise gaining speed. As the alluring melody came to an end, the lights slowed. Progressively, counterclockwise, the light turned green. A door rose from the floor where the original light of green started. A green misty flame covered the door.

On the door, which, like most other doors in this world, was engraved the symbol of the pharaoh. It was positioned on the bottom over a line of trees. In the top left corner was a sun radiating on the trees below.

"Our journey awaits, let's go," Yami said as he opened the door. The sweet smell of pine, cypress, cherry, as well as many other floral scents flowed into the room. Everyone followed Yami out onto the top of a smooth top, step pyramid. Likely it would be compared to a Mayan or Aztec Pyramid.

"Where are we?" asked Tea.

"We are on top of the Forest Temple. It is a shrine dedicated to all the creatures that exist in the forest. Each world has its own shrine which serves as the bridge back and forward to each area," explained Anzu. Rini continued the explanation as she dragged Yugi away on Suzami's back.

"We are right now in the East quadrant. We are heading for the swamp in South quadrant first. There have been threats of trouble there, but nothing you can't handle Yugi,"

"My sister is completely shameless!"

"I think it's kind of funny,"

"You would Yami!"

"Shouldn't we try to catch them before they get too far ahead?"

"Yes, you're right Tea. Ready to go Slifer?"

The Forest world was dense with trees of every type. Small areas were absent of as many trees. The South quadrant was mostly marsh, littered with a few trees. West was a mangrove swamp. Everywhere else was deep forest with the last exception of the only other developed area other than the temple. It was a tall castle in the North quadrant. The walls were covered in vines in a way to look elegant rather than the usual decrepit, rundown, abandoned sense you normally receive from a building that is draped in such a manner.

"What's that over there?" Yugi asked.

"Oh. We will go there next. That is the home of a good friend of mine. She is the one who is in charge of this region. She's nice,"

The day proceeded with the quick stop by the swamp. They had visited to reinforce a boundary that had been drawn up to prevent a skirmish that would potentially erupt to a larger problem. Luckily there was no trouble so they left in a couple of minutes. They spent the remainder of the day with the queen.

For the next several days they jumped between Earth and the Shadow Realm visiting the other terminals. They finally concluded the vacation that seemed to have lasted many years, on the eve of the tournament. Only a few hours remained until the tournament would begin.

"Bye for now everybody. See you in the finals Yugi. I hope you'll make it a fun battle!" Runa said as she blew a kiss to Yugi vanishing to her home, wherever it was, during the tournament.

"Night everyone. See you in the morning," Sisi replied as her, Noa, May and Kenshin left for their homes.

"Yugi, I want you to know that no matter how this whole thing turns out, I will always be right there behind you,"

"Thanks Tea. I will do my best,"

"Don't worry Yugi, I'll be right here waiting to cheer you on tomorrow,"

"I'm sure you will Rini,"

"Let's go Rini. I swear, you can really act like a two year old sometimes. Have a good night Yami and Yugi,"

"Thank you, goodnight Anzu. Goodnight Rini, 'night Tea,"

Yugi and Yami walked to Yugi's house as the sun began to set. The sky had a wonderful purple glow with a large moon rising at the same time.

"Yugi, you know Tea is worried about you,"

"Yeah, I know. She has always been like that. I always try my best not to make her worry,"

"Have you decided how you will handle the finals?"

"No, not...not really. It was hard enough when it was just whether or not to help Kenshin. But then it became whether or not I could handle being married to Runa. Now I also have to consider what affect my choice will have on Rini and Tea. What would you do Yami? How would you handle it?"

"I don't know. When Runa challenged me long ago, Rini and Anzu were there. They told me to follow my heart. Granted, I had no idea at the time that winning would mean I had to marry Runa. Believe me, no matter what decision you make, Tea will definitely be there to support you,"

"The only choice I have then is to battle the best I can. There is no other path open to me. Can you give me any tips for when I duel Runa?"

"Sorry Yugi but there are none,"

"What do you mean? There is absolutely nothing you can tell me about Runa's dueling?"

"Runa is one of the toughest, most powerful duelists I have ever come across. For every duelist, there is a constant link between their emotions and how the cards fall. Do you remember when you saw that image of my duel with Runa; when her eyes were that fiery red?"

"Yeah, I do," Yugi replied telepathically as the two neared a crowded intersection and were moving onto a topic that would require much more confidentiality.

"That is the one thing I can warn you about. That is the sign of a Lucifer Hawk. The iris becomes a crimson red once any half hawk becomes serious or emotional on anything. Hinoki, as you already know, is a form produced by Anastasia, which in turn can only be made by a fusion between Anzu and Rini. This requires a decent yet nowhere near significant amount of magic. For that reason her eyes are a constant red.

"When you duel Runa, when you enter that arena, when you step up to the platform, when that duel begins, you must be prepared to go through with whatever your decision is. You intend to win; you go straight for it right from the beginning. Lose focus on winning that duel and she will show no mercy; she will crush you,"

"Thanks. It begins tomorrow. I have decided I will go into the tournament with every intention of winning. Let the future fall as it may,"

As evening turned to night and night into day, Vash and Yugi emerged from their home to greet Anzu sporting a sleek, pearlescent crystal topaz colored Tuscan Speed Six followed by a second of chameleon red driven by Kaede.

"Hey guys, need a lift?"

"Kaede! Where did you all get the nice set of wheels?"

"Gift from Runa, Vash. One of them actually belongs to Yugi; a gift from her majesty the Queen of Games," shouted Noa.

"I could give you a much better gift Yugi," Rini sneered. Anzu sighed behind the wheel. "Come on guys, hop in. The official opening is in thirty minutes,"

They got in the car and sped off. Within twenty minutes they were downtown. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of duelists flooded the streets barricaded nearly fifty feet from the base of Crystal Point Tower. A ring of security guards enforced the barrier. Helicopters - both police and news - circled overhead, as if searching for an elusive thief.

As the clock struck 8:57 the loud but soft sound of the Endless Waltz of Time played by an unseen violin ensemble rolled through the air. As the sound dissipated, a cloud of purple smoke flowed outward from in front the tower. Runa walked slowly from behind the fog looking as gorgeous as ever. On her left arm was her duel disc. As the roar of the crowd died out Runa began a brief speech.

"Good morning to all. I am pleased to see everyone who received an invitation had enough courage to show up. Whether it was a wise move to accept my invite remains to be seen. You may think I am being harsh but quite frankly... that is your problem. I expect no mercy from my competitors and I show them no mercy. This will not be an easy competition. If you are too frightened to participate you have exactly thirty seconds to leave,"

Runa waited the thirty seconds. "That's too bad if you didn't leave. Until my tournament ends no person is allowed in or out of this city without first passing my security. Prepare yourselves... because in ten seconds my tournament starts!"

The crowd was silent for those ten seconds. When the bell for the nine o'clock hour rang out cheering and applause shot up from the crowd. Runa spotted Yugi in the crowd standing next to Kenshin and Sisi. She gave a wink and turned. As she did a person shouted her name while shoving his way through the masses. He stood at roughly five feet ten inches tall with short brown hair. He was the Southwestern United States regional champion. The crowd silenced again as this powerful and well respected duelist approached Runa.

"Serenity! Serenity Dantes! Wait! I am here to challenge you to a duel and eliminate you from this tournament!" His remark stung the crowd into a deep gasp but seemed to have little effect on Runa.

"First, Mr. Derek Davison, I prefer to be called Runa. Second, even if I accepted your challenge and you miraculously found a way to defeat me, I would still be in this tournament. While I said I would participate, it was solely for those who thought they could win coins fast. Being world champion I have already secured my place in the finals,"

"Oh, I see. You're afraid I'll toss you out of your own tournament. That's understandable. I mean I would be too," Derek said sneering as a couple of his friends laughed backing him up. Yugi looked at Runa and saw that she held her smile. But a fire was growing in her eyes. She began to laugh.

"You're a fool Mr. Davison. It seems your time in this tournament will be very, very short. You will, however, allow me a chance to demonstrate my newest duel disc,"

"You're confident now Serenity or Runa or whatever you want to be called, but you won't be once I start wiping the floor with you,"

"Is that so? Then I will make you a deal. If you can last four turns I will give you five coins, the rarest card in my deck and automatic entry to the Tower and the finals. If you beat me, you get all that and I withdraw from the tournament. Fair enough?"

"You just might as well hand it over right now. Four turns is nothing. Besides, four turns and you may have already lost,"

"Then let us begin,"

As she said those words the sky began to darken over. The duelists shuffled each other's decks. The field was set. Yugi watched the duel carefully. He not once saw even a slight peculiar movement. He did however see her eyes resume that fierce burning red. The clouds billowed and thunder could be heard in the distance. Lightning surged through the clouds. The duel began. Runa went first.

"I place Revival Jam in defense mode along with two Jam Breeding Machines. I end my turn by placing two additional cards on the field,"

"I see your plan. You're trying to get some strong monsters really quick. Well then, I will play Harpies Feather Duster and wipe away all your magic and trap cards,"

"I don't think so. I activate Gryphon Wing counteracting your Feather Duster,"

"Not bad. I then summon Alligator Sword in attack mode. Your turn,"

"It's almost over. I play two Dian Keto the Cure Masters gaining two thousand life points. To end my turn I place a card face down," The skies were now very dark. Lightning raced impatiently and thunder roared with excitement.

"I don't know what duel you've been watching but this one is far from over. I play the magic card Dark Doorway. I can summon any dark monster from my deck at the cost of one thousand life points. So I summon Skull Knight. Now, I will have my Alligator sword attack your Revival Jam and Skull Knight attack your life points directly,"

"Another careless move. I activate Block Attack. It prevents all monsters on the field from attacking. May I assume your time in the tournament is over now?"

"My turn may be over but not my time in this tournament,"

"You have no idea of how powerful my deck is. Your first mistake was to accept my invitation. Second was to challenge me and third was being so arrogant without first knowing what your opponent was really capable of doing. It looks like you won't ever see your third turn in this duel. My Jam Breeding Machines have each been creating Slime Tokens. I now have four Slime Tokens. My only regret is that this duel had to be so boring,"

"Your bluffs don't frighten me!" Thunder screeched as if angry at Derek's comments. "You haven't done any damage to my life points. There is no way you can deplete my life points in one turn!"

"For that snide remark you will be done in at the maximum strength my creature is capable of for this turn,"

"What are you dreaming about?"

"A small mind like yours could never understand the true strength of a Saint Beast," Awestruck, everyone, including Vash and the Rosencraft, stared blindly.

"A Saint Beast? You're lying! There are only three Saint Beasts in the entire world! No way you have one! NO WAY!"

"There are only three, and two of them are in this tournament. I only have one; lucky for you," Lightning continued to surge but there was still no rain. "There is one Saint Beast which truly has a near limitless attack. This lovely golden beast is the easiest to summon because, unlike the others... it only needs the sacrifice of any three monsters. Why continue describing it when I can go ahead and summon it," A massive wind spiraled around the duelists. Derek had to brace himself but Runa did not have any trouble whatsoever.

"I sacrifice three Slime Tokens to bring forth from its slumber the Saint Beast of Ra, The Winged Dragon of the Sun!"

The three Slime tokens burnt away. Lightning flew across the sky angrily. A blinding flash rushed outward and from the light appeared the dragon, a golden dragon resembling a griffin. It stood on two hind legs which each had three bladelike claws that stuck straight forward and one that went straight back. Its two arms were equipped with three equally sharp sickle claws. It had a long whip like tail. Its wings were large and strong. Its eyes were like smooth top rubies. It had a beak similar to Suzami's and was filled with sharp teeth. What looked like a blue sapphire rested on its head between the dragon's eyes. Ra stood behind Runa glaring down on the field and announced its presence to those who doubted it was there in the form of an Earth shaking roar.

"This is my oh so precious pet Ra. It is here to end this duel for me. He has four effects. The first one is useless for this particular duel. It allows me to eliminate all of my opponent's monsters. But like I said, I won't be using it. Its second effect combines the attacks and defenses respectively of the monsters sacrificed in order to give Ra an attack and defense. Effect three allows me to sacrifice additional monsters to add their attack and defense to Ra. Its final effect lets me transfer all my life points but one to Ra's attack,"

"I...I...I...I can't...can't!"

"The three Slime Tokens sacrificed raise its attack to 1500. The last token makes it 2000. My Revival Jam makes 3500. I activate Brain Control and Change of Heart, relieving you of your Alligator Sword and Skull Knight. I offer them to Ra making its attack 7,650. To complete preparations I use its fourth effect adding all but one of my life points to its attack.

"Thirteen thousand six hundred forty nine. I'm sure the only true challenge to me here knows the significance of that number. That however is of absolutely no concern to you," Her eyes went an even fiercer red, as too did the eyes of the Winged Dragon of the Sun. The end had come. "I have grown weary of this boring duel. Finish this Ra,"

Ra spread its powerful wings and flew upwards. It opened its beak-like jaws and released a bright gold blast of light that struck Derek. No one there would have thought for a second that the blast was not real if they were able to think past the summoning of the creature in the first place. Derek was knocked backwards several feet. He was laid out on the ground with his eyes rolled back in his head.

"That is the end of that nuisance. I trust everyone watched that duel carefully... as it will likely be the one of maybe two or three times you will see me duel in this tournament. I have one final word of advice. Do not underestimate your opponents. You do and you may find yourself like Derek there. Remember that anything that happens in a duel happens in that duel. A person who carries ill feelings for a loss or over praise a win, deserves no less than the fate the pompous and arrogant Derek Davison has suffered. There is no need to worry about him. He will be fine. My medical team has better training than any hospital. They will see to it he is okay but to let you all know, the rules were still in place and he agreed to them; he is out of the tournament. Now unless anyone else wants to duel with me I will be on my way and allow you all to earn the right to face me in the finals,"

She held her position for a moment and then turned away without a challenger - for obvious reasons. She gently stroked the head of Ra as it bent down to rub its nose against her face. It then disappeared and she continued back into the tower. The disillusioned spectators slowly broke away from the scene once the medical help arrived. By that time Derek was up and seemingly okay except being quite shaken.


	14. Chapter 13 - A Kingdom For A Card!

**CHAPTER 13: A Card! A Card! A Kingdom for a Card!**

Yugi took a relaxed approach to the day. He enjoyed the day with the Rosencraft no more than a block away from the Crystal Point Tower. The tower glistened in the light of day. The storm that threatened during Runa's duel moved by without letting down a drop of rain.

The tower was a tall structure covered in glass. It was pentagonal; starting out wide at the base and narrowing the higher up you went. It is often thought to resemble the Eiffel Tower of France and had surpassed the Sears Towers and Burj Khalifa of the US and Saudi Arabia in height.

Together, the Rosencraft sat at an outdoor café shortly before lunch. They were awaiting Runa's arrival as they had a few questions about the duel she conducted. Yugi was uneasy only because of Rini being latched on to his arm like a pair of restraints. The sight produced a rage in Runa's eyes when she arrived but she did well not to reveal it and proceeded to latch herself onto Kenshin's arm, much to Kenshin's dismay. The sight was successful in drawing a few chuckles from the others.

"What's up guys? Enjoying yourselves?"

"You bet Runa. How about yourself?"

"Fine Tea. I see Yugi is taking a laid back approach,"

"Runa, I don't mean to be rude but... where did you get that card?" Yami questioned.

"You mean Ra? Before I prepared my deck last night I almost forgot that I even had it. I got it so long ago and never had a need to place it in any of my decks. Truth is I found it,"

"You just found a Saint Beast?" May exclaimed.

"It was over five thousand years ago in Egypt. The ancient Egyptians really became obsessed in being the way we were nearly ten thousand years earlier. They discovered an ancient tablet that detailed only a little of our culture. Unfortunately part of it was about the Saint Beats and the Shadow Duel,"

"Please say they didn't," Anzu sighed, having already realized that her fears were likely.

"Yes they did, Anzu. They were able to translate a few parts of the texts and were enthralled by the Shadow Duel monsters. They created stone slabs to represent the ones they discovered and soon wars broke out not only within Egypt but also outside the civilization once it was discovered how much power was possible. The crisis that threatened Earth those days was now threatening them. To make matters worse, there was no one like Yami to control the power of the monsters.

"They tried time and time again to reach exactness. They wanted to duplicate the Saint Beasts or, as they called them, the Egyptian God monsters. They did have Ra and used it in a battle against Nubia. Ra went on a rampage. It caused massive destruction. I knew that it was important that I allowed destiny to play itself out, but I couldn't allow the destructive campaign to persist. I used Ra's ancient chant to bring it under my control and then returned it to its home. The end of that destruction became the beginning of Egypt's history. After all of that, they still wanted to mimic our history but couldn't. All the documents they discovered were destroyed in Ra's attack. They did learn a lesson. They never again did try and create their Egyptian God cards. But, as you all know, past lessons are not always remembered.

"In 1485 in England, a foolish war was fought between two royal families trying to claim control of the throne. The Yorkists, who had been dominating the war, were done in when they panicked as the Lancaster began to gain some ground. Both sides had Celtic members. They are traditionally magically endowed. Henry VII's mother was rumored to be a Celt herself. Once again, a little was discovered about the Saint Beasts as left by the Egyptians. The Celts on the side of the Yorkists created artificial Saint Beasts. In the Battle of Bosworth Field they summoned them to try and put a quick end to the war - destruction ensued. Because they were artificial their DNA structure was only able to exist for a very short time. It was long enough however for the copies to kill most of both armies along with Richard III,"

"That doesn't seem to make sense; the last part I mean. If that happened then why did Henry VII get credit for defeating and killing Richard III? One would think it would have been passed as something else,"

"I agree with you Kaede, or I would had I not already witnessed this,"

"What do you mean Sisi?"

"The year 1484 was when I awoke, Noa. 1485 I was traveling through Europe by the side of Henry VII. I thought probably the same thing that Runa thought when she saw him; that he might be the one we were waiting for as the true descendant of Yami. After the Battle of Bosworth Field, he could have twisted the story any way he wanted. Many members of his court wanted him to place himself as some phenomenal and all-powerful ruler. But acting like a descendant of Yami, he selected not to glorify himself and set it simply that he and his forces defeated the Yorkist usurpers and killed Richard III. Rumors however placed him as the one who brought forth on the field many powerful beasts to aid him which took care of Richard III,"

"Go back a little. Did you say like a descendant of Yami? Are you insinuating that Henry VII was really a descendant of Yami?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. A noble descendant but not even close to my darling Yugi," She now winked at Yugi causing Rini to frown a bit more. "Ra's real precious to me but I am still very fond of my dear Selenity. I could never thank Kenshin and Yugi enough for giving her to me. She is so sweet," She rubbed her head against Kenshin's shoulder transferring Rini's frown over to Kenshin.

"I'm gonna be sick,"

"Would you rather be in the Dark Spire?"

"No ma'am!" Noa replied straightening up immediately producing a small snicker. As Yugi enjoyed another sip of his drink a young man approached the table and challenged Yugi to a duel. By the end of day two Yugi and friends were inside the tower. As one duelist challenged Yugi he quietly put them down, and then faced another; not once losing.

The inside of the tower was just as exquisite as the exterior. The three-story lobby had a wall of glass straight around the building. The walls of the center part of the building had many pictures including one of the building's designer who only had his initials on the picture, C.D.B. At eighty feet from the entrance were two elevators. On either side was a staircase that went up to what would have been the fourth floor. This path was closed off and being guarded by officers.

The Rosencraft saw no one inside that first day, partly because two thirds of the competitors had been put out, a respectable number of those thanks to Yugi. When they all entered the elevator it took them up to the sixth floor. The hall was red carpeted straight down. The doors were red with gold handles. On this floor were eight doors of which only half were labeled. They walked down the hall looking at each door to see which one would be theirs. They reached the end of the hall and found a door labeled 2YV08.

Yugi went to the door to find that it was already open, not that he had a key in the first place. He thought about it for a second and realized that he had not seen a single person in the tower other than the security guards at the front door and the stairs. He entered the room and saw that it was enormous. It was easily large enough to fit a game of football. Plush carpet floors, elegant gold and silver accented furniture, multiple bedrooms and bathrooms; it was like a multi-million dollar condo.

Everyone entered the room marveling and admiring how extravagant it was. As Anzu wandered through the (room or house? She didn't know what to call it anymore), she found an envelope on a center table in one of the 'areas'. It quite simply had written on it in Runa's cursive handwriting 2YV08. She handed it over to Yugi and he opened it.

"You're right Anzu, it is from Runa. The date on the top is the day before her press conference announcing this tournament,"

"How is that possible? She couldn't have known you would accept her challenge," questioned Kenshin.

"I don't know. Maybe we will get an answer from the letter itself,"

"Go ahead Yugi. Let's see what she has to say,"

"Sure thing Yami. It says:

' Dear Yugi,

If everything is going as it was planned then you are one of maybe five who have survived this tournament long enough to make it into the tower. I am writing this letter because I am sure that I will somehow be able to convince you to enter. You reading this letter means that I was right.

I have seen a couple pictures of you and I cannot say that I am not surprised by your appearance. Your resemblance to Yami is not as striking as I expected. You do look a little cute. Sort of like my brother. Say hi to Kenshin for me.

Anyway, back to business. From here I estimate that it is only day two or three. The finals will not officially begin for another four or five days, accordingly. Since you're early, in two days you will be allowed to move up to the seventeenth floor. On this floor will be a designated area for the semi- finals. The top two duelists, who I am sure will be you and I, will move all the way to the rooftop to have the final duel. It will be a magnificent time. There is supposed to be a full moon that night. What a romantic site to have a wedding ceremony.

When you lose the duel I hope you wont' have any hard feelings. I would like to take you to the Shadow Realm, to the Dragon's Lair. It is a wonderful place and Kenshin and I will have a real wedding ceremony there on the lake. I'm sure Yami would be glad to be the one to preside over the ceremony. Or is he Vash right now? Oh well.

You should enjoy your stay here. You probably have not noticed anyone around. That is because they are all either out or in their private quarters or you are just the only one here. Remember that there has been no one here for several days. You can call room service and get whatever you want to eat. The extension number is 623. My room is the penthouse on top if there is anything you need to talk to me about.

Continue to have fun. See you at the finals.

Sincerely Yours,

_Serenity Runa Dantes_

That's the end of her letter,"

"Well at least she didn't come here to attack me,"

"She has not once attacked you Kenshin,"

"Turn it any way you want Rini, I still say that my sister is a nut case who should be detained indefinitely,"

Being that there were only four bedrooms they chose whom they would bunk with in the maze that was each bedroom and slept the night away. The next morning they enjoyed watching the other duelists battle with each other in an attempt to make it to the finals.

By the end of the deadline for the qualifying for the finals, Runa's prediction had been proven true. Other than Yugi and herself there were only two other finalists. The semi-finals on the seventeenth floor were set. Yugi would face a powerful duelist, the last world champion Lafiel Alexis Wainwright. While Runa would go head to head against the European champion Richard George Preston III. Neither would be a pleasant customer. They were no doubt powerful but not a power that would threaten a loss for Runa or Yugi. Runa was of course first up. The stage was an arena built into the building. The Rosencraft sat and watched from the sides. Cameras were suspended from the ceiling to record duels for television and live web feeds.

"Are you ready to begin Mr. Preston?"

"Yes I am. I hope this duel will be somewhat as enjoyable as the one you entertained us with against Mr. Derek Davison,"

"That will depend on you Mr. Preston. I can only trust my deck and hope that it will reward my trust by giving me the cards I need to win. For this duel to be entertaining you will have to do the same and hope that your cards can match up with my own,"

"Very well put my dear. You are clearly deserved of the honor of being the top duelist in the world. To lose to you would be greater than any other victory. My family is of a long line of knights and I know what true honor is. This is an honor above all others that a duelist could hope to achieve. A chance duel with the inventor and champion of the game,"

"You do flatter me but do not take it that I will go easy on you. I admire your courage and your approach to dueling but I still do not see you as a challenge. The only person who I ever saw as a challenge to me here was duelist 2YV08. They have made it so far and I expect them to make it to the final battle against me. Sorry but you are just a small obstacle in my way,"

"Fair enough. I shall do my best to change your mind about that. I admit I am worried about that Saint Beast of yours, the Winged Dragon of the Sun. It will be hard to overcome it,"

"I hope you didn't base your entire strategy on Ra. I don't have him in my deck today. My deck was originally built to combat 2YV08 and his Saint Beast. I did not expect to be challenged by anyone,"

"No need to be concerned. My deck is not built around finding a way to beat your Winged Dragon. It does make it bit easier to combat you however,"

"Indeed it will... but not easily enough,"

"Hah! We shall see,"

"Fine then, let this duel begin. I do want to warn duelist 2YV08 that this is not the deck I will be using in my final duel. That deck will have Ra in it and I hope that they will return the favor by placing their Saint Beast in their deck," Yugi wore a little grin at the request and warning. He may not have liked what his choices were for the completion of the duel, but he did want to duel her. He was counting the minutes to the time he could try his hand in a duel against a duelist so powerful that even Yami could not beat her. He agreed with Preston. A duel against her was an honor. Derek did not realize that and thus faced the harshest most crushing defeat ever. A duel with Runa was not something you were liable to forget and this one would be the same. He was ready and waiting as patiently as he could for this duel to begin and end, for it meant he was that much closer to the final battle.

And so it did. Mr. Preston led off the duel.

"I am playing the monster Toon Alligator in defense mode. I then place a two cards face down. Your turn Ms. Dantes,"

"I activate Dian Keto the Cure Master to gain 1000 life points. Then I activate Fissure to destroy your Toon Alligator. That ends my turn,"

"I play Ryu-Kishin Powered and directly attack your life points. That was a careless move you made not placing any monsters on the field or any traps either,"

"As you say. I play Gate of Dragons. This rare magic card allows me to special summon any dragon I want from my deck that has less than 3000 attack. I chose my Twin Fire Dragon. Now my dragon, burn away that fiend,"

"Very nice. Not quite good enough. I play the equally rare Fusionist Gate. This card is a continuous magic card that allows me to summon any fusion monster to the field at the cost of only one monster or 1500 life points. I summon Twin- Headed Thunder Dragon by sacrificing a monster from my hand and take out your Fire Dragon. You must do better than this my dear,"

"You don't have to worry about me. I draw. I play Card Elimination. Then I play Dark Necrofere in attack mode as well as two facedown magic cards. Because of Dark Necrofere's effect there must be at least three monsters in my graveyard for me to summon it so I used Card Elimination to send two monsters from my hand to the graveyard. I end my turn,"

"Either you have made a costly error or you have a plan to stop my attack. Your Necrofere's attack is only 2200. That is the same as your Fire Dragon's was and you left it in attack mode. That means you wish for me to attack you. Not as clever as I would expect from you. I play Harpie's Feather Duster to destroy the two magic or trap cards you just played. I also tribute another monster from my hand to summon the fusion monster Aqua Dragon. I destroy Necrofere and then directly attack your life points. You are now down to 3950; that is more than half your life points I have taken out. It seems this duel will go to me,"

"You should know better than to count out your opponent so early in a duel. I will not lose this duel. You were partly correct. I did have a plan up my sleeve and you walked right into it,"

Yugi was watching with less interest than the last duel. He saw she was truthful about not being worried about this duel. She was half asleep in this duel. Her eyes were their usual brilliant blue shade. For her this was likely one of those inconveniences she must tolerate.

"By sending my Dark Necrofere from the field to the graveyard you allowed me to play the very powerful magic card Dark Sanctuary. On this field now lives a ghost that will inhabit the body of one of your monsters. If it attacks then it will be reversed on you and cause you to lose half the attack power while I gain that total as an addition to my life points. It also has several other special abilities which I will not reveal just yet,"

"Well, well, well. It seems she has a fight left in her. Once again you have not placed a monster on the field. Even if your field magic card afflicts one of my monsters, all of them are not infected, so I can still deplete the remainder of your life points in this turn. My Fusionist Gate is still on the field so I draw a card and send one to the graveyard to summon through the gate Red-Eyes Black Skull Dragon. I launch a full-scale attack on your life points. No matter which monster is tainted the other two have more than enough attack points to take out all of your life points,"

"Not exactly. My ghost infected your Twin- Headed Thunder Dragon so its attack is cancelled and I gain 1400 life points raising it to 5350. As for your other two, I activate the ability of Dark Specialist. This ability of Dark Sanctuary allows me to summon one spellcaster of the Dark attribute if I am attacked directly. Dark Sanctuary is the safe haven for all of the spellcasters of darkness therefore it makes them nearly invincible. I summon Dark Paladin. This being is a fusion of the Buster Blader and the Dark Magician. It has an attack of 2900 and a defense of 2500. It is a spellcaster with the ability to draw power from each and every dragon played thus far in the duel and additionally from those to be played later on, regardless of ownership or status. Added with the power bonus that all Dark Spellcasters gain on this field, it now has an attack of 5400. It will destroy your Red-Eyes Black Skull Dragon and you will lose 2200 life points. Your life points are down to 4400. You can never count me out of a duel. It is all downhill from here for you,"

"I must admit this is quite a predicament. I will overcome this difficulty. Here it is. I play my face down card Monster Reborn. By bringing back your Dark Necrofere so you can no longer maintain Dark Sanctuary. I also activate Soul Crusher. Any card sent to the graveyard while this card remains on the field is removed from play. I switch all my cards to defense position and place two cards face down and a monster in defense mode. Your move once more,"

"I play Graverobber to bring back Gate of Dragons. I summon Paladin of White Dragon. I then tribute Paladin to summon my Blue Eyes White Dragon. That gives my Dark Paladin 1000 more attack making it 5900 attack power strong. I place two cards face down and end my turn,"

"I see. An interesting gambit. You seem to be very cautious of my moves. Are you afraid I have something to stop you or are you just making sure you don't make the same mistakes twice?"

"Not at all. I know that I can defeat you and your cards are of no threat to me. All I want to do is make sure that when I attack you that it is the end. I don't want to waste any more time by doing half the job. As a matter of fact I intend to win on my next turn,"

"That is quite a bold statement seeing as how I currently have several monsters to protect my life points as well as several magic and trap cards defending me. What makes you so sure that I do not have a plan of my own that would prevent you from completing whatever it is your plan is?"

"Simple. There are only two things any true duelist must rely on and those are their heart and the power of their deck. I have faith in my deck and know it will serve me well - as it has always done. Nothing you do will be able to break that bond as it is strengthened by the presence and support of my friends. I admit that you are a very good duelist and, against almost anyone else, you would surely win. But this is not a duel that you can win. It makes no difference which card in your deck you play because I will defeat it one way or another,"

"Bold my girl, very bold. The only way to see whether or not what you say is true is that I must make my play, and I do so by activating the ritual magic card Curse of the Masked Beast. I tribute two monsters from my hand whose stars equal 8 and bring forth The Masked Beast. With an attack of 3300 it will have no trouble destroying your Blue Eyes White Dragon. Now my Masked Beast takes out your dragon and you lose three hundred life points. To better protect myself I play Chorus of Sanctuary to increase the defense of all my defense position monsters by 800. That ends my turn. I doubt you will be able to stop my force now,"

"I use Cursebreaker to destroy your Soul Crusher. I then use Tribute to the Doomed. This magic card requires that I send one card from my hand to the graveyard. In exchange I can destroy any one of your monsters. I chose to send the Dark Necrofere you took from my graveyard. By doing so my Dark Sanctuary returns. My Dark Paladin's attack rises 500 once again to 6400. I also play two Pot of Greed to gain four more cards. I follow up with Meteor of Destruction. For every card I discard to the graveyard I am allowed to destroy a monster on my opponent's side of the field. I send three thus destroying your three defense position monsters. I play Lord of Dragons and two Flute of Summoning Dragons. I summon two Harpie's Pet Dragon, a Curse of Dragon and a Tyrant Dragon. My Dark Paladin's attack is up to 8400. I launch an attack on to your Masked Beast,"

"That is not possible. I'm afraid that your move exceeds the limit for the number of monsters on the field at any given time. You cannot play your Tyrant Dragon because there is no room left. So your Dark Paladin's attack is only 7900,"

"No it is not. Dark Sanctuary, like I said before, is a highly powerful magic card. Another of its many effects is that the controller is allowed to exceed either the monster card limit or exceed the magic card limit by using either area. If I so chose I could summon ten monsters or place ten magic cards. So my attack will continue,"

"I activate Negate Attack. Your attack is cancelled,"

"I activate Quick Attack. I attack you once more,"

"Then I activate Nutrient Z. This magic card works like a trap card, it activates when I am attacked and will lose 2000 or more life points and increases my life points by 4000. This duel will not end quite so fast,"

"Yes it will. I play Spiritualism. This is an unstoppable, quick play magic card. It deactivates my opponent's magic cards. This duel is over. You fought bravely but you never had a chance,"

It was over. Runa's Dark Paladin swung its sword through Richard Preston's Masked Beast. He lost 5100 life points instantly. He lost and that was that. Nothing could be done. He was bested by the ultimate duelist in the world and there was no trying to find a flaw in her plans. She had eased him into doing exactly what she wanted so as to defeat him. The perfect plan created by the perfect duelist.


End file.
